


Queen Of My Kingdom, Ruler Of My Heart

by GayFandomShipper123



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: BAMF Klaus Mikaelsons, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Gay Sex, Klaus is secretly a puppy and just wants to be loved, Klaus is super gay, Lots of it, M/M, Mikaelsons make awesome siblings, Post-Season/Series 04 Finale, Reunited Families, Smut, actually just BAMF everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 18:24:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14141883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayFandomShipper123/pseuds/GayFandomShipper123
Summary: A mysterious stranger shows up and says that he can repair the Mikaelson family and destroy The Hollow once and for all. But what secrets is he hiding? Can they trust him? Will Klaus ever get what he truly wants with all his heart?





	1. The Shrouded Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is the first fanfic I've ever written! Yay! Balloons and party poppers and all that!
> 
> I welcome all constructive feedback and comments, as I might get this story published as a novel with all my own characters in the future, depending on what people think of it here. Obviously I own none of these characters or anything, except the original characters and the plotline. I will definitely also be adding more chapters at some point.
> 
> Hope you guys, gals, and non-binary pals all enjoy! Let me know what you think in the comments! Xxx

**(Freya's POV)**

"Freya Mikaelson." The shrouded figure said.

It had been a hard day for Freya already. It had been Hope's 8th birthday, the first since they had all been separated by the parasitic presence of The Hollow, and she had been inundated with requests from her siblings to magically send their respective gifts and cards to the youngest member of the Mikaelson clan, as Freya was the only member of the family trusted with the whereabouts of all the others (due to the fact that a part of The Hollow did not reside within her).

It was hard on all her family never being able to make direct contact with one another, never being able to see each other again (driving Elijah to the point where he begged Marcel Gerard to compel 'Always and Forever' away from his life along with the memories of his family), and Freya had felt the full effects of their collective pain and emotional deprivation especially painfully that day.

So, needless to say, when a stranger managed to break past the wards that she had placed on the Mikaelson residence in New Orleans (in which she still lived with Keelin) with seemingly no effort, she was not in the fucking mood.

"Leave this place, stranger. You are facing Freya Mikaelson, the eldest sibling of the Original Vampires. Braver men than you have gone toe to toe with me and run away with their mangy tails between their legs." As a warning, she clicked her fingers and a ring of fire burst into life around the intruder. With apparently minimal effort, he swept his hand around him and extinguished the flames. This surprised her, her opponent was evidently a powerful witch, but even greater was her surprise when the stranger calmly stepped towards her with no pretence of fear, lowered the hood of his jacket, and introduced himself.

"Freya, I'm begging you to listen to me. My name is Thomas, and I've run away from my coven, the most powerful coven in Canada. They wish harm upon your family, to kill them all, just as they killed my parents."

Freya scoffed and turned away, beginning to walk back into the compound.

"I've no interest in stray witches, whether or not they come with pointless warnings for my family. My family is destroyed, torn apart, scattered across the world never to meet each other again. By all accounts, they are as safe as they could possibly be."

"I know of your family's situation already." dismissed Thomas.

"Then why in the name of all that is holy would you come here? To goad me into a witch's duel? Or were you hoping to tear open emotional wounds? Tell me, Thomas, do you have any sense of self-preservation? Are you perchance suici-"

"I've come here to help. Because I can repair your family. I can reunite your family, destroy The Hollow once and for all, and exact vengeance on my coven all in one fell swoop; but only with you and your family's help."

"Why should I trust you?" Freya sneered, though even she could not hide the ringing sound of longing in her words.

"Because of this." Thomas reached up to the neckline of his rather tattered and dirty shirt, and pulled it aside to reveal a birthmark on his collarbone. Freya stared. She knew this mark.

"Okay." She nodded, gulping in a shaky breath. "What do we do?"

*****

"And you're sure these are going to work?" Freya asked, unsure.

"Well, we've got to get them all back to New Orleans somehow haven't we? But that would be incredibly risky and dangerous. We've got these amulets, but they're only a temporary solution to keep The Hollow from escaping and re-forming, but they won't trust or believe me. I'm a stranger and you Mikaelsons are notoriously paranoid, no offence. So you need to help me explain to them. Once they're all together, I swear on my life I can provide all of you with concrete proof that everything I say is true."

Thomas sipped his mug of coffee as they stood at the table in the office/spellroom poring over several grimoires. Since their spat in the courtyard, the two had become quite amicable aquaintances. Freya had given him shelter in one of the guest bedrooms.

Freya took in the boy's appearance. He had a stocky build, couldn't have been taller than five feet and eight inches, with tanned olive skin, dark brown curly hair down to his shoulders which was currently held up in a messy knot by a pencil. His eyes seemed to shift from green, to grey, to blue, and back again. From what she could tell, all the possessions that Thomas owned were the filthy clothes he had on his back and the small tattered backpack he carried around with him.

Freya looked up and saw him looking expectantly at her. Evidently she had not heard him speak.

"I was just saying that it would be much easier for us to get Elijah first from Europe; everyone else should be able to get here themselves easily enough."

"Oh... Yes, I agree. I just wonder how we're going to lift the compulsion so that he remembers everything?"

"I think the best way would be to keep Elijah contained until Rebekah and Marcel arrive at least. Marcel compelled him before, so he should be able to lift the compulsion easily enough. Far less messy and painful than doing it by magic. He can just compel Elijah to remember." He shrugged nonchalantly. Freya had to admit that she was impressed with his forethought. He picked up a photograph of Hayley and Hope laughing with my brother Niklaus and looked at it. It was strange; he stared at it almost in a wistful fashion, as though remembering something.

"Are you okay?" Freya asked, walking over to him and looking at the photo.

"Yeah." He said, hastily wiping a tear from his cheek. "It just reminds me of my parents, before they died. I had an older sister too, but I've never even met her. They had to leave her behind to keep her safe when they found out they'd been betrayed by the coven, and while they were on the run, they found out they were going to have me. I always promised them that I would find her one day so that she would know how much her parents, our parents, had loved her. I promised them when they were dying that I would give her this. This was hers." He showed Freya the necklace that was hanging around his neck. It was a beautiful thing, a round, silver pendant with the head of a wolf engraved on it.

"I'm so sorry." Freya said, not knowing what else she  _could_ say.

"It was a long time ago." He said, straightening up. "When this business with the coven and your family is dealt with, and everyone is safe, then I'm going to go and find her."

At that moment, Freya's phone started ringing. It was Keelin.

"Freya, honey, is there a reason I can't walk past the front gate?"

"Oh yeah, hold on, sweetie. We'll let you in."

She chanted an incantation, and a couple of minutes later, Keelin walked into the office, looking confused. She hugged her girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek.

"Why couldn't I get in?"

"We had a visitor, and he managed to take down the wards with such little effort that I thought we better strengthen them a bit." She gestured to Thomas, who smiled bashfully. Freya turned back to Keelin.

"Keelin, meet Thomas. Thomas, meet Keelin, my girlfriend." They shook hands.

"Keelin." She turned to face her girlfriend. "We're going to get my family back. Thomas can help, we have a plan. I really think this is going to work." Freya couldn't help but start to get emotional.

"Really?! That's incredible! How are we going to do it?"

The three of them bent their heads back over the grimoires as the two witches filled Keelin in on the plan.


	2. Herding the Mikaelsons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will Freya and Thomas convince everyone to return to New Orleans? Will they succeed? And what is Thomas hiding?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to apologise. I haven't updated this story literally in months. Unfortunately I suffered a major relapse with my mental health and it's only recently that I've been able to face writing again. I'm doing better now, and I've got an amazing support system in my life. I'm just sorry if I have let anyone down who has been waiting for another chapter. I hope that you can forgive me and continue to enjoy my stories.
> 
> T xxx

**Thomas's POV**

Thomas was impatient to be on their way the next morning; they needed to get everyone back to New Orleans as quickly as possible, time was of the essence. It would not be long before his coven figured out what he'd done, and he'd only bought himself three months of time, if that, before they'd be able to find him.

He had his own reasons for wanting to help the Mikaelsons, but they were probably best left unsaid until he could show all of them the proof. He thought of the photo he'd seen in the office, and the people in the photograph and what they could possibly be doing right now. He could picture it; the she-hybrid Hayley and little Hope Mikaelson would probably be at home looking at all the birthday presents that Hope had been sent, wishing that the family members from whom the presents came could have been there themselves.

Klaus Mikaelson, of course, had a reputation that preceded him in six continents, and left a bloody trail behind him when he left. But Thomas sensed that the darkness and anger was not all that there was to Niklaus. No, in the photo, he had been laughing, his eyes holding no evidence whatsoever of the insurmountable grief and anger that had surrounded him almost his entire life. Perhaps there was hope for him after all, as long as they arrived in time.

Niklaus would undoubtedly be the most difficult to convince that the plan would work. Thomas had heard from Freya about his annoying habit of pretending to go along with a plan, whilst having his own plan in place at the same time. His lack of faith was truly astonishing, but, Thomas supposed, not altogether unexpected.

Thomas was jerked out of his musings by Freya walking down the stairs into the courtyard, pulling on a jacket as she did so.

“Are you ready to go?” She asked him pulling small bottles out of her pockets for the teleportation spell.

“Incendia.” Thomas said, lighting the candles that formed a ring around them. “Yes. Are you?”

“Of course. I just worry.”

“I know. But Keelin will be perfectly safe here. Yes, it would have been helpful to have another set of hands, but it's not like she could travel with her condition, is it?”

“No, I suppose you're right.” Freya said, taking one last look up the stairs to where Keelin was probably still sleeping soundly. “Okay, let's do this.”

*****

“Ugh, does this entire place smell of fish?” Thomas groaned, blocking his nose with one hand.

“On the plus side, we won't have to be here for long. Now let's get going.” Freya said, looking around in distaste. They walked around the French village for a while, stopping to get a much needed cup of coffee from a street vendor.

“Why do you still wear those clothes? They're filthy and shredded.” Freya said after a sip of watery coffee.

“Not all of us have inherited a fortune, Mikaelson. These happen to be all that I currently own. Once everyone's settled back in in New Orleans, then I can look for a job in the French Quarter so I can buy some more.” Thomas scowled, disgruntled.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to offend.”

“It’s fine.” Thomas said shortly. “Now, if _you_ were an Original vampire with no memories of who or what you are, where would you seek refuge?”

“Probably a bar.” Said Freya. “God knows I could use a fucking drink right now.”

“It’s ten o'clock in the bloody morning, Freya!” Thomas rolled his eyes. “Control yourself.”

“Please, it's five in the evening here. That's good enough. Besides, we have no clue where to look, we only know the vague proximity of where Elijah could be, and sitting down with a drink could give us some time to think without wandering around and attracting unwanted attention.” Freya reasoned.

“Has it occurred to you that I'm not old enough to drink yet?” Thomas hissed.

“Please, this is France! Everyone here is too drunk to notice. Besides you look old enough to drink, nobody's going to bother checking your ID. But if it really means that much to you, you can just have a soda or water or something.” Freya dismissed, walking towards the nearest bar without a backwards glance. Thomas ran to catch up with her.

“Fine, but if you get hammered, I'm not dragging your booze-soaked ass through this town to look for your brother. I'll dump you back in New Orleans and do the work myself.”

The bar was dimly lit, and very noisy. The raucous shouts of Frenchmen filtered through their eardrums as the smell of stale booze, sweat, and vomit, filtered through their noses.

“Oh good God.” Was all Thomas could say. Freya led them to a small table in the corner and left Thomas to sit down while she ordered their drinks.

Loud cheering reached Thomas's ears, and he watched as a band stumbled drunkenly onto the small stage at the opposite end of the room. The lead singer introduced them, sloshing his bottle of wine back and forth. Thomas noticed that all of the band members seemed to be nursing their own (very large) drinks and that they all appeared to be on the wrong side of drunk. All of them, that is, except the pianist, who (although he was indeed drinking from a bottle of what looked like whisky) was the only one that looked as though he wasn't going to spend the next week hungover and hugging the toilet.

“Here you go. I got you a cola.” Freya plonked the drinks down on their table and sat down opposite him, her back turned away from the band. “So, how are we going to find dear old Elijah?”

“Thank you.” Thomas said, taking a sip. “But I reckon that we'll only have until the end of this song to wait.”

“How come?” Freya said.

“The singer on stage just said that this would be their last song of the evening.”

“Okay.” Freya said, still not following.

“And your brother appears to be sitting at the piano.”

Freya whipped her head around to look at where Thomas was indicating, Elijah swigging from his whisky bottle and dancing his fingers over the piano keys.

“What are the damned odds?” Freya said incredulously. Thomas shrugged.

“Oh well, I guess that makes our job easier. One down, so that leaves Kol and Davina, Rebekah and Marcel Gerard, Klaus, and Hayley and Hope.”

Freya nodded and turned to watch the band performing. A couple of minutes later and the song drew to a close, the band staggering to their feet and taking a wobbly bow before stumbling off the stage and towards the bar.

Freya and Thomas got to their feet and walked over. Thomas cleared his throat and spoke to Elijah.

“Monsieur? Je m'appelle Thomas et cette belle est ma amie, Freya. Nous sommes admirateurs de votre musique. S'il vous plait, permettriez-nous à vous acheter un verre?” Thomas spoke in fluent French, which surprised Freya, though she did her best to hide her shock as quickly as possible.

“Oui, vous êtes vraiment gentils. Mais, si c'est possible, nous pourrions aller ailleurs? C'endroit est dégoutant.” Elijah smiled benevolently at them, rising from his barstool and waving goodbye to his band mates.

“Très bien. En toute honnêteté, je suis d'accord, Monsieur Elijah.”

Elijah led the way out of the bar. Freya waited until he was of earshot before whispering hurriedly into Thomas's ear.

“You speak French?”

“Obviously. I'm Canadian, Freya. I just had to change the dialect slightly and I was fine.”

“Let’s get moving. I don't want to keep him waiting.”

They followed Elijah out the door. He was across the street, lighting a cigarette, and humming a tune to himself. Freya and Thomas approached, and Thomas opened the conversation with a winning smile.

“Alors, Monsieur. Où devrions-nous aller?”

Elijah took a drag in his cigarette and pointed down the street. He started walking, leaving Freya and Thomas to follow.

“And while we're walking, you two can tell me who the hell you are and what you want from me.”

Thomas and Freya stopped dead in their tracks, staring at Elijah’s back. Elijah turned around and sighed.

“Come on. Let’s go for a drink. I need one after playing with those drunk idiots back there. I should warn you, though. Don't try to attack me. Bad things happen when people pick a fight with me.” Elijah's voice was slightly accented, as though he'd got too used to using French. Elijah led the other two to a quiet little bar and pushed the door open, holding it for Freya and Thomas.  
Elijah nodded to the barkeep, who nodded back and walked out from behind the bar to unlock a door. Elijah led them through this door and asked him to bring through some food and wine.

“Are you hungry, Elijah?” Thomas asked.

“A little. The barman makes good beef bourguignon.” Elijah shrugged and tossed his jacket onto one of the chairs.

“That’s not what I meant.” Thomas said, exposing his throat.

Elijah froze and stood up quickly.

“What is this?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“Call it a show of good faith. I trust that you won't kill me, and I'm offering you something that you need. You can trust us.”  
Elijah scowled as though he didn't believe them. Thomas couldn't blame him.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Thomas shrugged. “You get a meal out of me. And if you kill me, I'm sure my friend here will give you her word that she won't retaliate.” Freya hesitated before nodding slowly.

Elijah took a cautious step forward, probably still waiting for the other shoe to drop. When Thomas made no move to stop him, the veins in Elijah’s face turned dark and he lowered his fangs, biting into Thomas's neck, drinking deeply. Freya made a protesting noise after a short minute and Elijah detached himself from Thomas's neck, using a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his chin.

“So. You two obviously know what I am.”

“Yes.” Thomas said, blinking away the dizziness and waving a hand over his neck, vanishing the puncture sounds.

“And I'm guessing that you two are witches of some sort.”

“We are indeed.” Said Freya, taking a seat at the table. Elijah sat down opposite her, squinting at her. Then he turned to Thomas.

“But you're not just a witch, are you? You are something else. I tasted it in your blood.”

Thomas froze, hesitating, before answering.

“No, I am not just a witch, but that is a discussion best saved for later. Forgive me.”

Elijah nodded, for now satisfied with Thomas's answer. He returned to scrutinising Freya.

“Do I know you? You seem familiar somehow. But I can't quite place it.”

Freya and Thomas shared a worried glance. A knock came at the door and the barman bowed himself inside with a tray containing a pot of steaming hot stew and an uncorked bottle of red wine. He also placed spoons, bowls, and wine glasses on the table. He bowed again and exited.

“You won't believe us if we tell you.” Thomas walked up to the table.

“Try me.”

“She’s your older sister.”

Elijah’s eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing, instead pouring himself a glass of wine.

“I guess we should try and explain.” Freya said awkwardly.

“That would probably be a good idea.” Elijah nodded, still not giving any obvious reaction to anything they said.

“Okay, well, you and your siblings, of whom Freya is the eldest, had to separate yourselves from each other for the safety of your niece. But you knew you'd be unable to stay away from your family, so you asked a family friend to take your memories away, so you wouldn't put the safety of your family in jeopardy. But Freya and I have a plan to re-unite your family and keep everyone safe. So we want to take you back to New Orleans with us, and we can get your memories back as soon as possible.”

“I-I had a – a family?” Elijah said throatily. It struck Thomas how lonely Elijah must have been this past year. He had no memories of who he was, and nobody he knew who could have helped him.

“Yes. I think we'll be right in guessing that you woke up in a strange place a year or so ago, with no memories.” Thomas said, taking the chair in between Freya and Elijah. Elijah nodded mutely, staring at his knees.

“If you let us take you back to New Orleans with us, we can get your memories and your family back. And if it doesn't work for whatever reason, we'll bring you straight back here and it'll be as though you never even met us.” Thomas put a hand on Elijah's shoulder.

“What do you say, Elijah?”

Elijah seemed to wrestle with himself, he stood up and paced around the room for a moment.

“Alright. I'll go with you. What do I have to lose?”

Freya and Thomas stood up.

“I promise, you have everything to gain by coming with us.” Thomas reassured him.

“I don't even know why, but I believe you.” He said to Thomas.

They joined hands in a triangle and Freya and Thomas transported them back to New Orleans.

“Here. Put this around your neck. It'll keep you safe from the dark magic here.” Freya held out a small wooden talisman on a string necklace. Elijah obediently put it on.

“So what now?” He asked them.

“Freya and I need to go and round up the rest of the family. It'll be safest for you to stay here with Freya's girlfriend.”

“I don't want to. If you're going to find my family, I want to come with you.”

“Elijah, I don't think it would be safe. Without your memories, you're more vulnerable than we can afford for you to be.”

“So you just expect me to wait here, minding my business and twiddling my thumbs, while you two go gallivanting all over the world?”

“No.” Thomas said with a small smile. Before Elijah could even blink, Thomas blew a handful of glittering powder into his face, and he crumpled to the floor in a deep sleep.

“I’m sorry, Elijah, but we just can't afford to take risks right now. Please forgive us.”

Freya and Thomas hid Elijah's sleeping body in a cupboard with a powerful boundary spell around it.

“Right.” Said Freya, standing up and brushing off her hands. “Who’s next on the list?”

“Kol and Davina, I think. They'll be the easiest to convince, I reckon. Davina's a witch, and Kol used to be very active in the sorcery world.”

“Sounds good to me.”

*****

They knew Kol and Davina were in California, so Freya had called ahead and said that she'd pop in to check up on them.

“You know,” Thomas said to Freya as they blinked in the mid-afternoon sunshine. “If you think about it, California time is two hours behind New Orleans time, so we technically just travelled back in time.”

“You're utterly ridiculous.” Freya snorted with laughter. A few minutes later, they knocked on the door of a beautiful townhouse and a young brunette woman answered the door.

“Freya! I can't believe you're here!”

“Hi Davina.” Freya hugged her tightly.

“I can't wait to have someone intelligent to talk to.” Davina grinned.

“Oi, watch it, love. I was smart enough to marry you.” Came a yell from the next room.

“I guess that means there's hope for you after all, little brother!” Freya called back. There was a crash and a loud Ancient Nordic curse word, and Kol came skidding into the room.

“Freya! What are you doing here?” He cried happily, pulling her in for a hug.

“I need to talk to the two of you.” Freya said, sobering up.

“What about? And who's this?” Kol said suspiciously, backing up a bit.

“Both questions have similar answers. Let's sit down.”

Ten minutes later and Thomas and Freya had finished explaining everything to Davina and Kol. Both of them looked unsure, and Kol had Davina's hand clasped in his, as though drawing security and comfort from the contact.

“I'm sorry, but I just find this all hard to believe. After everything that has gone wrong for my family, time after time that we've thought we were out of the woods, I'm sure you can understand our trepidation.” Kol said apologetically.

“Don't blame you.” Thomas shrugged, taking one of Davina's homemade cookies. “You guys have properly been through the shittiest of shit walks of life.”

“Eloquently put.” Davina said, raising her coffee mug in recognition.

“Show them what you showed me when I didn't believe you. That'll convince them.” Freya said, taking a sip from her mug.  
Thomas pulled aside the collar of his filthy t-shirt and showed them the mark on his collarbone.

“Damn it all to hell and back, I guess you are telling the bloody truth.” Kol groaned.

“So. You guys are on board?” Thomas said, holding out the small wooden talisman to Kol.

Kol and Davina shared a look.

“Kol, baby, this is your family. I know how much you guys need each other.”

Davina turned to face their two guests.

“We’re in.”

*****

Kol and Davina had reluctantly agreed to stay in New Orleans while the others were rounded up.

Next on the list were Rebekah and Marcel. As with Davina and Kol, Freya had called ahead to say that she needed to talk to them urgently.

When they teleported to New York, they found the apartment complex that Marcel and Rebekah were living in, and pressed the buzzer.

 _“Get your arse up here, then, Freya.”_ Rebekah's voice said through the intercom. _“This better be good. We're missing a lunch reservation at the Four Seasons Hotel for this.”_

Freya rolled her eyes and gestured for Thomas to follow her. When they reached the penthouse and knocked on the door, Marcel's voice answered without opening the door.

“Who have you got with you, Freya? You should have said you were bringing someone.”

“Quit it with the paranoia, Marcellus. This is another witch, and we need to talk to you about an urgent matter.”

“He’s not a witch though. Not completely, anyway. He smells different than a normal witch.”

“Conversation for another time, Marcel. I trust him and that's all you need to know for now.”

Grumbling under his breath about 'fucking witches never giving straight answers', Marcel reluctantly opened the door. Rebekah was  
standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows wearing an tight black dress and killer heels. She was in front of them in less time than it took to blink, hugging her sister and laughing.

“OH! My dear Freya, I'm so happy you're here. Come on, I am pouring you a stonkingly massive glass of wine, and then you can explain to us why we're cancelling a reservation that we have had for a month.” Rebekah didn't even acknowledge Thomas's presence (though Thomas wasn't stupid enough to be fooled into thinking that she wasn't watching his every move out of the corner of her eye) and led them to the vast kitchen island, pouring a sizeable glass of expensive red wine for the three of them. She offered Thomas a glass as well.

“No thank you, Miss Mikaelson. I'm not old enough to drink yet.”

“Well I never,” Rebekah said, staring at Thomas in disbelief. “Who’d have thought it? A teenager that actually obeys the legal drinking age. Props to you, kid.” She raised her wine glass to him, and drained it immediately before pouring herself another.

“I’m sorry, but would you mind telling us what the hell this is about?” Marcel stepped forward besides Rebekah.

Freya explained what she could between sips of wine.

“I’m sorry, but why on Earth would I want to go back to New Orleans?” Rebekah snorted into her glass. “We know that the protection we have in place at the moment works absolutely fine, even if it does keep us apart. It's a price I'm more than willing to pay for that child's safety. Why would I want to risk it by listening to you?” She sneered at Thomas.

“Because Kol and Davina have already agreed. And Elijah wants his family and his memories back. If not to help us, Marcel owes it to Elijah to give him his memories back if he wants them.” Freya pleaded with her younger sister.

“Besides,” Thomas cut in, “Whether or not Elijah remembers it, you guys promised each other 'Always and Forever', and I am your best shot at repairing that promise.”

“Plus,” Freya said, looking at Marcel, “The kingdom needs its king in a time of crisis.”

“You're telling me that Kol, Elijah, and Davina are all in New Orleans together safely, without apocalypse-type crap happening?” Rebekah waved her hands around.

“Yes.” Thomas nodded. He chucked one of the pendants to her. “These are made from the same tree that The Hollow emerged from. That, coupled with the runes you can see carved into it are tricking The Hollow into thinking that it's already re-joined the other parts of it, so it won't draw on you and your family while you're wearing these. It also makes it safe for you guys to be in New Orleans. Put it on for a second. I guarantee you'll feel it.”

Rebekah shrugged, and tied the talisman around her neck. She froze, before looking wide-eyed at Marcel.

“It works. It doesn't feel like I'm being pulled by an invisible force anymore. I can't feel The Hollow's presence at all.”

Rebekah turned her eyes to their two visitors, and they could see them sparkling with suppressed emotion.

“If this works, I'll forever be in your debt, kid. If it doesn't, I'll rip your head off. Sound like a deal?” She held out her hand. Thomas didn't even hesitate before shaking it.

“Deal. Now let's get you two back to New Orleans.”

*****

“Do you think we should have tried to convince Klaus before Hayley and Hope?” Thomas said, unsure, as they walked up the driveway to Hope's boarding school in Mystic Falls.

“Absolutely not. Klaus probably still won't believe us when we get there, but at least if everyone else is already back in New Orleans, he'll come to at least yell at everyone for endangering Hope.”

They were greeted at the door to the school by one of the older students and were led to the principal's office, where they found Hayley and Hope waiting for them.

“Aunt Freya!” Hope said, running to her and hugging her tightly around the middle. “What are you doing here? And who's this boy?”  
Hayley picked her daughter up and held her close to her.

“I’d also like some answers, Freya.”

Freya explained everything to Hope and Hayley, while Thomas stayed quiet and watched their reactions. After Freya had finished, Hayley crouched down in front of Hope and spoke to her in a calm voice.

“Baby, this one's up to you. Mommy can't make this choice for you. But you know that this will probably be a really painful journey, and it might not even work. We could spend months and months trying to fix things in New Orleans, and then have to go back to the way things are now. And we both know that it would hurt even more if we had to do this all over again.” Hayley spoke quite calmly, but she couldn't hide a crack in her voice at the end of her sentence.

Hope whispered something in her mother's ear, and Hayley stood up, facing the other two and grabbing Hope's hand.

“My daughter just had to go through a birthday where she couldn't see her family when she most desperately wanted to. I never want to  
see her that miserable again. So we're in.”

Freya opened her mouth to thank them, but Hayley held up a hand.

“But, if I feel like my daughter is in too much danger, we're gone. And you won't ever hear from us again. Understood?”

“Very well.” Freya said solemnly.

*****

Klaus (shockingly) required a different approach to everyone else. Thomas put a cloaking spell on himself while Freya lured Klaus to a pub, using the excuse of a consolatory drink that Klaus could not be with his baby girl on her birthday.

All Freya had to do was keep Klaus distracted long enough for Thomas to put a boundary spell around Klaus's barstool. This was a bloody difficult task because it meant that Thomas could only put some of the salt circle down at a time, having to cloak the salt ring itself as he went. Also, Klaus was leaned forward on the bar more often than not, so Thomas had had to lean over and extend the circle over that portion of the bar as well.

Finally, about ten tense and frustrating minutes later, Thomas had the boundary spell around Klaus complete. On a whim, he put a cloaking spell on Klaus as well, before he lifted the cloaking spells on himself and the salt ring. Klaus almost fell off his stool in shock, but the boundary spell stopped him from even doing that.

“Freya, what is the meaning of this? And bear in mind, the fact that you're my sister will not stop me from tearing you apart.” Klaus pointed an accusatory finger at Freya, before his eyes caught Thomas. “And who in the ruddy hell is this? You won't be able to mollify me with a tasty snack, Freya.”

“Niklaus, I would like you to meet a friend of mine, this is Thomas. And he would like to talk to you, if you would please shut up and listen.”

In grudging silence, Klaus realised that he wasn't going anywhere soon anyway, so he waved a hand for Thomas to speak.

When Thomas had finished, Klaus downed the rest of his drink.

“So you expect me to risk the safety of my siblings, and more importantly my daughter, because you think some pathetic Canadian coven of witches is after us? Did it not occur to you that by being apart, we were safer than being together in one place, where for all intents and purposes, we are sitting ducks? Really, Freya, you should have brought me more than just a pretty face to kill.”

Thomas spluttered at Klaus, his cheeks turning crimson as Klaus eyed him up.

“A pretty face that currently has Elijah asleep in a cupboard that only I can unlock. Kill me, and you might be able to get into the cupboard, but you'll never be able to wake him. That, is a promise.” Thomas glared, though his cheeks were still tinted pink.

“So the pretty kitty has claws, eh? I'm impressed, but if you wanted me on your side, threatening my brother's safety probably isn't the best way to go about it.”

“Suit yourself, Niklaus. Everybody else is already in New Orleans.” Freya shrugged.

“WHAT?!” Klaus roared. “Freya, I am going to kill you. You, and this pint-sized sorcerer.”

“Oh, give it a rest, Niklaus. Hayley brought Hope to New Orleans. Do you really think that Hayley would put that little girl in harm's way? Because if you do, then you’re dumber than we ever thought. We all care about Hope’s safety just as much as you do. Now, here, put this talisman around your neck, and tell me that you don't feel better.” Freya threw the amulet to her brother through the boundary spell. He caught it deftly before slinging it round his neck. He looked mildly surprised.

“Well Freya, I'm impressed. The bit of The Hollow in me is now silent for the first time since this all happened. Thank you.” Klaus mumbled grudgingly.

“Don't thank me, brother. I didn't do that. The 'pretty face’ did.”

Klaus raised his eyebrows in surprise, turning to face Thomas.

“Colour me impressed. And you said that Hope, Kol, Elijah, and Rebekah all have one of these as well? And they're all in New Orleans right now without everything going tits-up?”

Freya and Thomas nodded.

“In that case, I am in your debt. If I can hug my daughter without all of us dying, then you have made a very powerful friend and ally in me.” Klaus nodded at Thomas, the corners of his mouth tilting up slightly. “I believe that I need no longer be a captive audience. I assure you both that you and everybody in here are perfectly safe if you lift this boundary spell.”

“Boundary spell _and_ cloaking spell.” Thomas corrected. “Nobody else in this bar could see or hear you this entire time. All they would have seen when they looked over here is Freya and I having a conversation over a drink.”

“Really?” Klaus said.

“We thought it would be safest given your rather patchy reputation. No offence.” Thomas shrugged. Klaus laughed.

“No offence taken, pretty kitty. You're the only kid I now that's ballsy enough to acknowledge my misdeeds. Kudos.”

“Thanks.” Said Thomas, lifting the spells with a simple wave of his hand. “Now let's get you to New Orleans. You need to give your baby girl a hug.”

*****

They arrived in New Orleans just on the banks on the Mississippi River, leaving them with a short walk to the Mikaelson compound. They were at the gates, but Klaus froze, shaking his head, and backing up a few paces.

“I can't do this.”

Freya made a noise of protest, but Thomas waved her down.

“You go ahead and tell the others we'll be with you in a few minutes. I've got this. Tell them that I'm just having a bit of trouble getting Klaus through the wards.” Freya looked as though she was going to argue, but then sighed and nodded, walking away. Thomas turned to Klaus, who was hunched over, clutching his knees for support and hyperventilating, his eyes wide but unfocussed.

“Klaus?”

No answer. Thomas cleared his throat and raised his voice.

“NIKLAUS MIKAELSON!!!” Klaus blinked and looked up. “What's going on?” Thomas asked in a softer voice.

“Hope – I can't bear to see her and then everything to go wrong. When we performed the ritual to save Hope, I never even said goodbye to her. How can I expect her to forgive me after doing that?” One tear slipped down his prominent cheekbone.

“Listen here, Klaus. That girl in there could forgive you for anything because that is how much she loves you. It is exactly the same as how there isn't a single thing that Rebekah, Elijah, Kol, or Freya could do that you would not eventually be able to forgive. She will forgive anything that you could do because she desperately wants to have faith that you love her and want what's best for her. This is the 'make it or break it’ moment, Klaus! This is the moment when you need to prove to Hope that you love her enough to take the biggest risk you ever have! I know you're scared, and I bet Hope is terrified too, but she needs her father to hold her and comfort her and tell her that everything is going to be alright! Tough love time, buddy. At the end of the day, what you're scared of right now doesn't matter; Hope is the one that matters at the moment! So you get your arse in there and you give your daughter the biggest hug of her life and let her know how much you love her!” Thomas had started out soothingly, talking to Klaus as though he was a caged animal, but by the end, he was yelling himself hoarse at the hybrid. Klaus looked absolutely stunned that anyone dared talk to him like that.

“Normally, if someone were to talk to me like that, I'd kill them and their entire family.” He said in a low voice. Thomas faltered, fleetingly revealing a scared expression.

“Are you going to kill me, Klaus?” Try as hard as he might, Thomas couldn't keep his voice from shaking.

“Absolutely not.” Klaus said. He bent down and whispered quietly into Thomas's ear. “I find you very... interesting. And I like to play with my food before I eat it, _pretty kitty_.” Thomas couldn’t stop his breath hitching slightly as he felt the ghost of Klaus's breath on his ear and (though Thomas didn't know whether or not he had imagined it) the barest trace of Klaus's lips.

Klaus straightened up, smirking down at Thomas. Thomas scowled as he made a futile attempt to hide his blush from Klaus. Klaus's eyes glittered with a predatory gleam.

Before Klaus could move further, Thomas made a grabbing motion in mid-air and Klaus was held in a vice-like invisible grip. Thomas turned and walked through the gates, dragging Klaus behind him. They reached the wooden double doors to the courtyard, before he rounded on Klaus.

“I don't know what you're doing, but people these days don't normally respond to condescension. Courting requires respecting the person. I am not some stupid human that you will use and toss aside, Niklaus Mikaelson.” Before Klaus could respond in any way, Thomas gave a lazy flick of his hand and Klaus flew straight through the wooden doors, splintering them, and landing in a heap at the feet of his siblings.

Finally free to move, Klaus leapt to his feet to see Thomas stepping lightly over the debris and repairing the demolished doors with a click of his fingers.

“Right. I take it we have an understanding, Klaus?”

“We do indeed, love.” Klaus grinned at him and winked.

A small voice spoke up from across the courtyard.

“Daddy?” Hope was standing there with her paintbrushes clutched in her hand, a smudge of blue across her cheek. Klaus's voice seemed to get stuck in his throat, he opened and closed his mouth a could of times, his eyes getting misty, before he gave up on words and started walking towards his daughter.

“Daddy!” Hope cried as she ran to meet her father halfway and flung her arms around his neck as Klaus caught her, burying his face into her hair and holding her as though his life depended on it.

“Hello, Littlest Wolf.” Klaus whispered to her. This seemed to spark movement in the other members of the family who all walked over and greeted Klaus with hugs and tears. Klaus was completely unwilling to let go of Hope (and anybody could see that Hope felt the same).  
Rebekah appeared by Thomas's side.

“Looks like you did it, kid.” She said, smiling. She looked over at Klaus who laughed uproariously as he clapped Kol on the back in a fierce hug. Rebekah turned to face Thomas.

“You, kid, have just made the most powerful and loyal friends you'll ever have in your whole life.” She held out her hand to him, smiling as he shook it, before walking over to hug her brother.

Thomas backed away, wanting to give the family some privacy, but Klaus caught his eye and called out.

“So, love, where's Elijah? I need my family fully reunited.” Klaus grinned. Thomas nodded.

“Very well. If I could have Klaus, Hayley, and Marcel follow me, please. We'll be back soon enough.”

Klaus popped Hope down on the floor, and before Thomas could even think, he had three powerful supernaturals standing in front of him. Thomas turned and walked upstairs to the room where Elijah was held, trusting that the others would follow him. Thomas unlocked the bedroom door with a flick of his hand, before beckoning the others through, and locking it again.

“I’m just locking the door, in cases it proves more difficult to make Elijah remember than I anticipated. Also, if he becomes violent, we don't want him getting loose until he's calmed down.” Thomas said. The others nodded, impressed with his forward-thinking.

“Incendia.” Thomas said, and the salt ring on the floor around the wardrobe burned away. Thomas approached the wardrobe slowly and placed his hand on the door, which promptly fell open. Klaus rushed forwards and caught Elijah’s limp body before he crushed Thomas, and laid him gently on the floor.

“How did you knock him out?” Marcel asked curiously.

“Crushed vervain and aconite, mixed together and hexed so that the effects are lasting, but without any pain caused to the victim.”

“Impressive.” Marcel said.

“Right, he's probably going to be pretty pissed off when I wake him up, but I had to sedate him to stop him from coming with Freya and me. We couldn't afford to take any risks that we didn't have to.”

The other three nodded in understanding and moved so that they were all standing in a ring around Elijah before Thomas preformed the spell to wake him.

With a roar of anger, Elijah's eyes opened and he leapt to his feet, instantly trying to get to Thomas. Marcel had Elijah held fast by the shoulders and looked dead into his eyes.

“ _Remember_ , Elijah. Remember your family. Remember 'Always and Forever'. Remember everything. _Go through the red door_.”

Elijah's body fell to the ground twitching in agony as a blood-curdling scream tore itself from his throat. Thomas immediately knelt down and placed two fingers on Elijah's forehead, and Elijah fell silent and limp.

“What did you do to him?” Hayley rounded on Thomas, her fangs bared in anger.

“He was in immeasurable pain, so I made it go away.” Thomas shot back, not backing down.

“How?” Klaus asked.

“I made myself feel it instead of him.” Thomas said in a tight voice.

“Why would you do that?” Klaus asked, shocked.

“Because he didn't deserve to feel all the pain he did.”

“And you do?”

“This was my idea. I figured that Marcel simply compelling him to remember would be completely painless. I was wrong. So it's my responsibility to atone.” Thomas shrugged, though Klaus was looking at him shrewdly, as though he could tell that Thomas was far more effected by it than he was letting on.

They were distracted, however, by Elijah stirring into consciousness on the floor.

“How will we be able to tell if he can remember?” Hayley asked, as Marcel and Klaus helped heave Elijah to his feet. Elijah was blinking away dizziness, shaking his head, but at the sound of Hayley's voice, he turned and looked straight at her.

“Hayley? Is that you?” His voice was ragged and throaty, still overlain by a slight French accent.

Thomas looked at Klaus and nodded.

“He remembers.”


	3. Introductions and Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, the Mikaelson family is safe for now. But what will be revealed? And who is Thomas, really?

**Klaus's POV**

Elijah was rather disoriented by the sudden onslaught of memories that he hadn't even previously known he'd been missing. It was like an enormous mind dump right into the emotional centres of Elijah's brain. However, he was obviously pleased to have his memories back, and kept himself very close to Hayley all night.

Klaus turned around and saw Hope and Thomas sitting on the sofa together. Hope was sitting on Thomas's lap, and she was giggling as Thomas showed her how to make shapes out of flower petals using magic. He twiddled his fingers in the air in front of them, and the petals coalesced into the floating form of a horse, which cantered around them in mid-air for a bit before disappearing. Klaus smiled before walking over.

“Hey, looks like you two are having fun.” They looked up at him, both of them grinning.

“Yeah, daddy. Look at this!” Hope said excitedly before attempting the same twiddly finger motion that Thomas had done and mumbling an incantation under her breath. The same pink flower petals that Thomas had used swirled in the air and formed a cat briefly before falling to the floor.

“Aw. It didn't work.” Hope pouted.

“Hey, that's okay, Hope. You just need a little practice.” Thomas beamed at her and then said in a loud whisper. “You don't even want to know how long it took me to get any good at casting 'incendia'.” Hope giggled quietly.

“Come on, monkey. I think it's time you got to bed, young lady.” Hayley walked over with Elijah.

“Okay mommy.” Hope groaned, hopping off Thomas's lap.

“Actually, before you go, Hope. I have a birthday present for you.” Thomas clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. A gold light shone in between his fingers. The glow faded and he opened his eyes. He showed Hope what was in his hand, revealing it to be a beautiful ornamental hair clip.

It was obviously well-made from what looked like sterling silver, with a glittering dragonfly made of gemstones on top. Diamonds made up the dragonfly's body, and four long emeralds made up the dragonfly's wings. He put it in Hope’s hand and then closed her fingers around it.

“Thank you!” Hope said, hugging him round the middle, and sprinting off to show her Aunt Freya. The adults turned to face Thomas.

“Thomas, this is too much. We can't accept the gift. It's too expensive.” Hayley shook her head awkwardly.

“Don't be ridiculous, Hayley. It's a gift.” Hayley still looked slightly uncomfortable, but nodded and said nothing else, walking away to hurry Hope up to bed. Thomas turned to Klaus.

“Did I overstep some sort of line?” Thomas asked him, unsure.

“No, of course not. It was a beautiful gift. Hayley just sometimes feels awkward about expenses. She used to struggle a lot financially before she became part of our family. So money can sometimes still be a sensitive issue.” Klaus said, smiling. “But thank you, though. Really. It's beautiful.”

Thomas blushed slightly.

“Th-thank you, Klaus.”

Hayley finally got Hope to bed, so it was just the adults (and Thomas) downstairs. Talk turned to more serious matters.

“I, for one, would like to propose a toast.” Klaus said, raising his glass. “Today, our family is reunited. A centuries old promise of 'Always and Forever' is restored and allowed to continue, and everyone in our family, for now, is safe from harm, and able to live in our home.” There were smiles from all around as Klaus continued. “And this happy occasion was brought about, in no small part, because of Thomas. So I would like to sincerely say, from the bottom of my lifeless heart, thank you for saving my family and my baby girl. You have made yourself a great many friends tonight, Thomas. I can't speak for everyone, but I am forever in your debt, and I can't thank you enough for what you've done. So I ask everyone to raise their glasses, to family. And to making new and lifelong friends.” Klaus held his glass of wine up to Thomas, and the others all joined, cheering and smiling broadly.

There was a lull in conversation, before Marcel spoke up.

“So, kid, we're all extremely grateful for what you've done, don't get us wrong, but we still know next to nothing about you. For one, everyone here can tell that you're not just a normal witch. So, if we could have some answers, that would be terrific.”

A few of the others glared at Marcel for his abruptness (Klaus included), but nobody disagreed.

“Yes, of course. Honestly, I'm surprised nobody asked before now. But it will be easier to explain to all of you at once.” He nodded and stood up, starting to pace agitatedly. He looked more than a little uncomfortable having everyone's eyes on him, and Klaus took pity.

“Perhaps if you were to start at the beginning? Where are you from?”

Thomas took a deep breath before launching into his tale.

“Okay, so I am – or was – part of the most powerful witches' coven in Canada. My mother was the leader of the coven. My father wasn’t a witch, he was a werewolf, which a lot of the coven didn’t like; they said it was a shameful pollution of a noble line of magic. I had – or have – an older sister somewhere, but I've never met her, and my parents had to hide her when they went on the run. Basically, a lot of the members of my coven became obsessed and infatuated by the idea of The Hollow and the sheer power of its dark magic. So they usurped my parents, and led a mutiny. They tried to kill my parents and sister, but failed, and they had to flee. Anyone that remained who still supported my mother was murdered as insubordinate.” Thomas stopped pacing, and gazed into the distance, before he shook it off and continued.

“My parents fled to the Louisiana Bayou, to be with my father's family, and built themselves a little hut, completely off the grid. They had peace there for a couple of years, but eventually the covenant found them. My parents managed to escape, but they decided that my sister wasn't safe with them anymore, so they hid her away in the human foster system. They always tried to keep an eye on her though; made sure she was fostered by nice people, even if the homes didn't last long. They said that it was the most heart-breaking thing that they were ever forced to do. They always said they never should have done it, they wanted their baby girl back.” Thomas was looking down at his shoes now, as everyone else listened with rapt attention.

“Years later, the coven seemed to have given up on finding my parents, and they managed to live fairly peacefully in Texas, but by then they’d lost track of their daughter. They found out that my mother was pregnant with me, and then I was born, exactly ten years after my sister, to the hour. Sure, they loved me, but my existence always brought up the loss of the daughter they'd wanted to watch grow up. I was a mistake and an accident, and I made them miss my sister.” Klaus saw a tear slipping down Thomas's cheek, and his heart ached for the kid.

“My mother trained me in magic as I grew up. They said that my sister took after my father, and was born with the active werewolf gene, but I took after my mother, and was born with magic. Nothing much happened until I was eleven years old. My parents became fuelled by despair and grief over the years, and they decided that the coven needed to pay for what they'd done to them. By then, they'd sussed that my magic was unusually strong, and they brought me along with them to take back the coven. They travelled back to Canada, careful not to use any sort of magic that could alert the coven to their presence, and hid themselves away in the forest in a log cabin that my father owned. We spent about two months planning, and then my mother and father took me to the base of the coven. I'd put us all under heavy cloaking spells so that they'd never even know we were there. My mother prayed to our ancestors at this little shrine, and I guess the ancestors answered her prayers. The ancestors stripped every member of the coven of their powers, except me and my mother. My mother channelled all of that power, the power of the coven _and_ all the past ancestors into a ring. This ring, actually.” He showed them a ring on his middle finger. It was sterling silver, with a princess-cut emerald in the centre, a diamond on either side.

“It was my mother's engagement ring. So we fled back to our cabin, with the entirety of the power of the coven, leaving them completely defenceless. The plan was to go back in a couple of days and massacre the lot of them, but my parents couldn't contain their feelings about pulling one over on the coven, and they broadcasted their success, to taunt and terrify them before they killed them all. The coven figured out where we were, and they burned the house down around us. My father died in the fire. He was... He was trying to save me.” Thomas was crying steadily now.

“My mother and me both made it out alive. She knew she would be killed, so she channelled her power into the ring as well, and placed a blood curse on the ring so only I had access to its magic. She also gave me my sister’s locket and told me to find her one day. The coven cornered us and – they beheaded her right in front of me. I was eleven years old.”

Everybody sat in suffocated, choking silence while he cried silently, unable to continue for the moment.

“What happened then?” Davina asked in a shaking voice.

“The coven couldn't kill me, because then they'd lose all their magic. So they kept me prisoner, as a sort of magical fountain slave-person, and used me to do magic that they wanted done. Until about a couple of months ago.”

“Christ alive.” Said Kol in horror.

“They also experimented on me, trying to get their magic out of the ring. They settled on one idea. My father was a werewolf, so even if I was not born a werewolf, the gene was still dormant in me. They used torture and forced me to use my magic to activate the wolf gene.”

“But to activate lycanthropy, y-y-you need to kill someone.” Hayley said shakily.

“I know. They made me do that too. To this day I don't know who it was. They just dragged in a random eight year old girl off the street, and forced me to kill her. She was an innocent. Anyway, for whatever reason, transforming into a wolf wouldn't work for me, so the coven elders found another animal for me to transform into.”

“What was it? What animal?” Klaus said in a quiet voice. Thomas's story was absolutely harrowing, but Klaus couldn't deny his curiosity.

Thomas didn't say anything, but backed away and bowed his head. He screamed in pain as the transformation took over his body, breaking every single bone into a new configuration. When the animal straightened back up, the others all stared open-mouthed.

“The boy turns into a _lioness_?” Marcel said, confused.

“He's not a lioness, Marcellus.” Klaus said, in a breathless, exasperated voice. “He’s a puma, also known as a cougar or a mountain lion.” Thomas transformed back to human with a whimper of pain and straightened up. Klaus used his speed to rush up the stairs and grab some of his clothes for Thomas to put on, as his clothes (which were already frankly nothing more than rags) were ripped apart in the transformation.

“Thanks.” Thomas said as Klaus handed them to him. It was nothing special; a pair of boxer briefs, a collarless white shirt, and black trousers.

Nobody said anything, but they all saw the thick, deep scars that covered Thomas's torso, front and back, like he had been whipped ferociously and repeatedly. They must have been from before the werewolf gene had been activated, so it still left scars.

Klaus sat back down with the others, while Thomas finished his story.

“So, I was now a freak, even by hybrid standards: I am half witch, half were-puma. As a puma, I am much faster than both werewolves and vampires, and while a werewolf’s bite is lethal to vampires, my bite is lethal to werewolves, though my healing factor is pitiful in comparison to both. I had to make my own moonlight ring. Even if I ever find my sister, she'll never want to be around me when she finds out what I am. I don't even know where to start looking. Or what her name is now. Or what our birthday is. I only know that she is a werewolf, I know her birth name, and our age difference. My parents never even told me what date exactly I was born. I don't even know my own birthday.” Thomas finished despairingly.

“If you'd like, we can help you find her.” Klaus patted Thomas on the shoulder.

“You guys would do that?”

There were sincere nods from everyone.

“To start with, what's your full name and what was her birth name? That would give us something to go off at least.” Klaus smiled encouragingly. Thomas gave Klaus a watery smile in response, and mumbled a quiet 'thank you’. He took a shuddering breath.

“Okay. So my name is Thomas Andrew Michael Labonair. Andrew is the male form of my sister's name. I was also named Michael after my father. My sister's birth name was Andrea Dawn Labonair. She'd be about 27 years old now, because I'm seventeen thereabouts.”

Complete silence. Not a single voice. Everyone in speechless shock. Then, a shaking voice from the back of the group.

“Your sister was born on June 6th 1991, so you were born on June 6th 2001. You turned seventeen on June 6th 2018, and your sister is now a hybrid. She spent her life angry and scared because she thought her parents didn't want her, and now, her baby brother is standing right in front of her, telling her how her parents actually died, after he just saved her daughter, his niece, and their family from The Hollow.” Hayley's voice was shaky at the beginning, but by the end, there were tears streaming fast and heavy down her face, and she was sobbing as she finished.

“What?” Thomas had gone pale, deathly pale, and had frozen where he stood as everyone else stared between him and Hayley, watching backwards and forwards like a tennis match.

“My name now is Hayley Marshall-Kenner, but my birth name was Andrea Dawn Labonair. If I wasn't undead, I’d be 27 years old. I'm your big sister, kid.”

“Oh my God.” Thomas said breathlessly.

Thomas and Hayley ran to each other and embraced in a tight hug, rejoicing in finding each other, and at the same time mourning the happy family that neither of them had ever really known.

*****

It was as good an occasion as any for another toast, so Klaus led them in another, toasting to family reunions and happy introductions.  
Klaus saw out of the corner of his eye as Thomas undid the chain around his neck, handing Hayley the necklace that he’d promised his mother that he would give to her. Thomas seemed to remember something suddenly.

“Oh guys, I forgot to mention!” He said. He waved his hand through the air and made a grabbing motion, pulling from thin air a large black duffel bag which he tossed at Klaus and Elijah’s feet. Klaus looked curiously at Thomas who nodded encouragingly, and he opened the zipper on the bag. Inside were a dozen or so wooden stakes, a few wooden spearheads, a few dozen wooden arrowheads, and a bunch of wooden knives. There were also five large jars with what looked like ash inside them.

“What is all this?” Said Elijah, kneeling down to examine the contents.

“Be careful. All of that is white oak. On my way here I went on a bit of a hunt and tracked down every single bit of white oak in six continents. There wouldn’t be any in Antarctica, you see.” Elijah jerked his hand back out of the bag, and looked furiously at Thomas.  
Thomas clicked his fingers and the bag burst into bright green flames, burning into nothing. There was no bag left, no ash, no trace at all of the white oak.

“Congratulations, Mikaelsons.” Thomas said with a small bow, “You are now completely free of the threat of white oak. You’re as immortal as any of you could hope to be.”

Stunned silence filled the courtyard, before raucous cheers and screams of delight burst from Rebekah, Elijah, Kol, and Klaus’s mouths.

“Are you serious? That’s all of it?” Rebekah gaped at him.

“Yep. All gone.” Thomas nodded.

Rebekah rushed at Thomas and pulled him in for a delighted hug, before laughing as she held him at arm’s length.

“You, kid... First you save my niece and the rest of these sorry buggers, and now you got rid of one of the other biggest threats to our safety? You deserve a fucking medal!”

“I’ll settle for a friend?” Thomas said, holding out his hand. Rebekah batted it away and pulled him in for another hug.

“Bugger that, you can settle for a _best_ friend and a partner in crime.”

“Deal.” Thomas laughed.

The other Mikaelsons were starting to get over their shock now, all cheering loudly and embracing each other.

They could hear the pitter-patter of small footsteps and Hope came running down the stairs.

“Hope! What are you doing up, honey?” Hayley smiled at her daughter.

“I was listening to everything you guys were saying.” She smiled happily. In response to the disapproving looks on her parents’ faces she said, “I'm eight, not an idiot. And can you really blame me? I get it from you two.”

Kol burst into laughter.

“She’s got a point there, Nik!”

“So, you're mommy's little brother?” Hope said, turning to Thomas.

“Uh, yeah. I guess that makes me your uncle, huh? Is that alright with you, kiddo?”

Hope nodded, beaming at him and hugging him round the middle again.

“Thank you for my birthday present, Uncle Thomas.”

“You’re welcome, little princess. But call me Uncle Tommy.” He said with a wink.

“Can you show me more magic?” Hope whispered to him, Klaus and Hayley watching their daughter fondly.

“Of course. Watch this.”

Thomas moved his finger in a slow circle in the air, leaving a daisy chain following it until it was a dainty little flower crown made of white daisies. Thomas blew on it as though to remove dust, and the green stems turned to solid gold, the white petals were suddenly made of pearl, the golden circle of pollen in each flower turned into diamond. He placed the priceless flower crown on top of Hope’s head, where it sat in a perfect fit, like a little tiara.

“There, a beautiful crown, fit for a queen.”

Klaus frowned at Thomas as Hope sprinted to Rebekah to show her new gift. Thomas was dabbing at his nose, from which blood was slowly trickling. Klaus and Thomas made eye contact for the barest trace of a second, before Thomas's eyes rolled into the back of his head and Klaus rushed forward to catch him before he hit the floor. Everyone rushed over to see if he was alright.

“He'll be okay,” Said Davina, checking his pulse, “He’s probably just overexerted himself. In the past day he's done a lot of intercontinental teleporting, plus cloaking spells, boundary spells and who knows what else. He pushed himself to the limit today, that's for sure. He just needs a good night's sleep and he'll be back to normal.” She concluded, standing up.

Klaus hitched the unconscious boy more securely into his arms.

“Klaus, I let him have the spare bedroom on the second floor, next to the library.” Klaus nodded to show he'd heard Freya before carrying Thomas up the stairs and laying him gently on top of the covers.

*****

**Thomas's POV**

Thomas groaned as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked down and saw that he was wearing the clothes that Klaus had lent him the night before. He shielded his eyes from the sunlight streaming in through the window as the events of last night came back to him.

“Oh God, I fainted.” He said to himself, groaning internally.

“You did indeed.” Said a voice from across the room.

Thomas yelped and fell right out of the bed as he whipped around to see who had spoken. It was Klaus, sitting casually in the chair in the corner, watching him.

“Klaus! For the love of God, you scared the hell out of me!” Thomas gasped, clutching his chest. Klaus didn't look sorry at all. If anything, he looked pleased, as though Thomas had just paid him a compliment.

He continued to watch Thomas with curiosity as he stood up, trying to regain some semblance of dignity. Thomas became uncomfortably aware that Klaus's shirt was hanging off his shoulder and that the neckline went very far down. He pinched the shirt together self-consciously, trying to preserve some of his modesty.

“Please, don't cover up on my account.” Klaus leered at him, winking naughtily. Thomas threw a cushion at his head. Klaus caught it, chuckling.

“What are you doing in here, Klaus? Watching me sleep?”

“Waiting for you to wake up, love. We have a lot to do today.”

Klaus stood up.

“Such as?” Thomas asked, squinting suspiciously at Klaus.

“Well, Freya told us how the only clothes you had were those rags you were wearing yesterday, and now that you are a member of our family, we must rectify that immediately.” Thomas looked confused. Klaus sighed exasperatedly.

“Rebekah has demanded to take you shopping. If I were you, I wouldn't try to refuse her. My dear sister can be a pain in the arse when she doesn't get her way.”

“Do I have any choice in the matter?”

“I’m afraid not. Though I will be coming along also, for moral support.”

“Sure.” Thomas rolled his eyes sarcastically. “Great moral support, you're just going to be staring at me the whole time.”

Klaus shrugged, completely unabashed.

“I can't help it if I like what I see. But you should know, Thomas, that playing hard to get is only going to make me more determined to figure you out.” He winked before walking out, leaving Thomas spluttering furiously behind him.

*****

“Nope. Not your colour. Try this one.” Rebekah snatched the shirt out of Thomas's hands and replaced it with another that looked, in Thomas's opinion, as though it was the exact same colour.

“But that one’s blue, and this one's blue.”

“Don’t be daft. This hideous thing is royal blue, which is much too bright for your complexion, it'll wash you out. That one is Egyptian blue, it's much darker, see? Makes your skin look nice and tanned.”

Thomas rolled his eyes and went back behind the curtain to change the shirt, sticking his middle finger up at Klaus, who was snorting in laughter. This was the ninth clothing store that they'd been to, but Rebekah was a woman on a mission, and Klaus assured Thomas that there was simply no point in trying to struggle, it would be much easier and less painful to just go with it.

This store followed the same pattern as the other ones. Rebekah would unleash Klaus and Thomas and all three of them would look for garments that they thought would look good on Thomas. Inevitably, they would regroup, and Rebekah would veto all of Thomas's own choices, saying that his taste was absolutely pitiful (but not to worry, because she could teach him better), and Klaus would suggest a couple of things that Thomas considered 'way too sexy-looking', blushing as red as a tomato. Rebekah would still put a couple of Klaus's items into the 'yes' pile, and would then bodily throw Thomas into the nearest changing room, along with the approved clothes.  
Thomas tried to stay annoyed, but honestly, it was all quite fun. He'd never had anyone to go shopping with before, and had certainly never bought things just because they’d look nice. No, before, they'd have had to be useful to him. Warm jackets, that would keep the Canadian weather at bay, for example.

Thomas re-emerged from the changing room, self-consciously tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

“See? That's a much better tone for him. Don't you agree, Nik?”

Klaus nodded appreciatively.

“Come on.” Rebekah said, grabbing Thomas's arm and pulling him back among the rails of clothing. “Pick out some more stuff that you actually like. I promise that I'll try and be less critical. Unless it is truly appalling.”

Thomas laughed, but once again began perusing the racks. He stumbled upon one item and thought 'wow, I really like this’, and hid it under the other clothes that he'd picked out. He'd probably try and smuggle it past Rebekah and into the changing room, just so he could see it on himself. He picked out a few more items, but began second-guessing himself when Rebekah started calling his name, and he started feverishly shoving them all back on the racks, hoping that Rebekah and Klaus wouldn't notice.

“What are you doing over here, Tom?” Rebekah laughed as she walked over. She looked from Thomas's panic-stricken face, to the rack of clothes, to the items that were still in his hands.

Thomas couldn't breathe. He could feel his heart in his throat.

Rebekah said nothing, but merely started browsing these racks too, pulling out a bunch of the items that Thomas had wanted to try and adding them to her pile along with a few others, before grabbing his hand and leading them over to Klaus, who was waiting by the changing rooms (Rebekah had compelled the store clerk to reserve this changing room solely for their use).

“What took you so long?” Klaus complained as they approached.

“Thomas actually started having some good ideas, so I took it and ran with it.” Rebekah grinned.

Thomas, for his part, was staring at his feet and wishing that the ground could swallow him up.

“Klaus, could you just give us a minute? I need to talk to the kid alone.” Rebekah sighed. Klaus nodded and wandered off.

Rebekah sat Thomas down in one of the chairs outside the changing rooms and shook the hair gracefully out of her face.

“So. Are you going to tell me what the matter is or do I have to compel it out of you?” Rebekah said bluntly, looking at him.

“I just – I thought they looked nice and – I don't know what I was thinking. It was stupid.”

“Right. Enough of that, if you please. They're good choices, some of them. They’d look nice on you. Now, go and try them on. And I expect you to come out and show us.” Rebekah ordered sternly.

“But they’re – I mean, I can't. It's – It isn't a good idea, is it?” Thomas mumbled.

“Screw that, you're now part of the most powerful and deadly family in this city, and probably the rest of the world. You can do whatever the hell you want. _I'm_ the one that is centuries old, not you. Now, go and get changed or I'll send Klaus in to make you hurry up.” She said with an evil grin and a wink.

Thomas groaned and protested, flushing scarlet, but nevertheless let Rebekah shove him back into the dressing room with the clothes. He stared at them for a little bit, wondering what on Earth had possessed him to look at these clothes, and how bloody unlucky it was that Rebekah had caught him at it.

He sighed heavily and donned a couple of the items, also putting on a pair of shoes. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He really did like it a lot, but how could he go outside dressed like this? He stuck his head out from behind the curtain to see Rebekah and Klaus sitting there quietly and expectantly.

“Well? Come on, then. Let's see.” Rebekah said, urging Thomas forward.

Thomas took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the curtain, hanging his head as he waited for the fallout.

“Wow. You look hot.” Rebekah nodded approvingly.

Thomas had chosen a pair of ripped denim bootie shorts, with a Burgundy top with a wide neckline that revealed his shoulders. In bold lettering on the front of the top, under a little graphic crown were the words 'Queen Bee’. He had also put on a pair of black high-heeled combat boots to give the look a bit of edge. He looked nervously up at Klaus, waiting for his verdict.

Klaus was staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Thomas, his eyes raking over Thomas's legs and over his exposed neck, shoulders, and collarbones.

“H-how does it look?” Thomas asked in a shy voice.

“Bloody gorgeous.” Klaus breathed, apparently unaware that he had actually spoken aloud. Rebekah rolled her eyes.

“Okay, go on, before my brother starts drooling. Go and try on one of the skirts!” She said, flapping excitedly. Thomas blushed, but shot a small smile at the other two before ducking back into the dressing room.

This time he chose a simple white t-shirt and tucked it into a dark green skirt, which was short and flared out.

Klaus and Rebekah like this one too. Klaus didn't say anything, but his cheeks did go pretty red, and Rebekah was smirking at him wickedly.

“I don't know.” Thomas said nervously. “I still feel a bit weird about wearing skirts and stuff like that out in public. I really like them, but they're girls' clothes.”

Klaus stood up and marched over to Thomas. He flung an arm around his shoulders and spoke jovially.

“And why shouldn't you wear skirts if you want to?” Klaus smiled.

“Girls are finally allowed to wear shorts and trousers, why can't men be secure enough in their own masculinity to wear pretty skirts and dresses?” Rebekah added, Klaus nodding in agreement.

“Take comfort from the fact that nobody will say anything about it, if for no other reason than you are associated with my family.” Klaus said, shrugging. “I’ll never understand how my siblings and I can be nearly a millennium old and still be more open-minded than modern mortals. It's utterly ridiculous. Back when we were young, men wore tunics with pride!” Klaus insisted.

“Okay. Even setting that aside for now, what if I don't look any good in them?” Thomas asked, running a hand through his hair.

“I think I can speak for both of us when I say that you look extremely pretty.” Rebekah said emphatically.

“Indeed. You look... dazzling.” Said Klaus, taking Thomas's hand and kissing his knuckles. Thomas blushed furiously, but was nevertheless very pleased.

*****

Two hours later and Rebekah conceded that they may at last go home. She had insisted on revisiting all of the previous stores now that a wider range of clothes could be examined.

Rebekah compelled three burly men to carry their purchases back to the compound as there were too many bags for three people to carry. Thomas could see the incredulous looks on the faces of the rest of the Mikaelsons as they trooped past with bag after bag of new and fine clothing. Rebekah ordered the three mortals about putting things in the bedroom that Thomas was using, while Thomas went and sheepishly sat down with the others.

“For Christ's sake, did you empty every clothing store in New Orleans?” Kol exclaimed.

“No. Your sister is just incorrigible.” Thomas said as he flopped down on the sofa.

“Oi, I heard that, you bugger! Now get up here and change into your own clothes!” Rebekah yelled from upstairs. Thomas groaned but got up and disappeared up the stairs.

Rebekah was standing in his bedroom with the shopping bags piled on the bed.

“Right. Get undressed, and let's pick out something for you to wear today.”

“Do you always order people around like this?”

“Only if they're men.” Rebekah grinned at him. “Now strip.”

Thomas squirmed uncomfortably.

“Do I have to? Can't we just pick out an outfit and I'll put it on when you've left?” Thomas was uncomfortably aware of the scars that covered his torso.

“Absolutely not. I need to see the clothes on you to get an idea of what to combine them with. If this is about self-consciousness, you have nothing to be worried about, you look fine, and we all saw the scars on you yesterday after you transformed. And if it's because it's me, I shall try very hard to not be offended. I have seen plenty of men naked before, nothing about you will be able to shock me. Also, we're friends, it's not going to mean anything. I can show you my tits if it would make you more comfortable?” Rebekah joked, reaching down to pull her top up.

“No! No, that's absolutely fine, don't worry!” Thomas said hurriedly, shielding his eyes.

“Okay, then. Now strip.” Rebekah ordered. Thomas grumbled, stripping to his underwear and handing there, feeling awkward and very exposed.

“Can I just say, that I am thoroughly jealous of the fact that you are completely hairless from the neck down.” Rebekah marvelled, walking around Thomas in a circle. “Also, you have a really good butt. That's a good asset to have.”

“Whatever.” Thomas said. “Now can we please hurry up so I can get some clothes on?”

In the end, they settled on the blue denim bootie shorts that Thomas had tried on earlier, with a white form-fitting tank top and a long cardigan that reached the back of Thomas's knees. Rebekah then fussed about his hair and ended up tying it back in a half-up half-down look, accenting it with a couple of sparkly hair pins. She handed Thomas a pair of simple flip-flops to wear on his feet. She then dragged him out the room to unveil him to the others.

**Klaus's POV**

Fuck. Fuck it all. Klaus couldn't help but stare at Thomas as he descended the stairs, looking self-conscious (though in Klaus's opinion the had absolutely no business looking self-conscious when he looked like a god) but effortlessly beautiful nonetheless. Klaus felt something stirring in his chest. He knew that he found Thomas Labonair very attractive, impressive and interesting, but now Klaus was feeling something inside of him that he hadn't felt since he first laid eyes on Camille O'Connell; and that honestly terrified Klaus to no end.

If he was starting to fall in love with Thomas Labonair already, then that went against everything that Klaus had ever said about love at first sight not existing, every time he'd ever thrown it in Rebekah's and Elijah's faces when they fell in love.

Then Thomas reached the bottom of the stairs, and smiled at everyone shyly, his eyes connecting with Klaus's for a fraction of a second, and Klaus decided that he didn't care. In that moment, Klaus made it his mission to make Thomas Andrew Michael Labonair fall madly in love with him, and Klaus started developing a plan in order to woo him.

“H-how do I look?” Thomas said, giving them a slow twirl.

“You look just like your sister.” Kol observed.

“You look amazing.” Klaus said in awe.

“Thanks.” Thomas said, blushing profusely.

Hope beckoned Thomas downwards so she could whisper to him.

“You look really pretty, Uncle Tommy. Can you do my hair like that?” She cupped her hand to his Sara’s she whispered to him.

“Thanks, kiddo. But you'll have to ask your Auntie Bex to do your hair. I'm rubbish.” He whispered back.

Elijah whispered something into Hayley's ear, and she nodded.

“Um, guys? We have a bit of an announcement.” Hayley said, linking her fingers with Elijah's. All eyes turned to face her and Elijah.

“Elijah and I have decided that it's time to stop finding excuses. And since we're all safe for now and we have peace at last, Elijah and I have decided to get married. We're engaged.” Hayley said, grinning and holding up her left hand, on which sat a beautiful diamond ring. A massive shining diamond, with two slightly smaller diamonds on either side of it, and when Hayley took the ring off to show them, on the inside of the ring were the words 'Always and Forever' engraved in an elegant cursive font. Everybody crowded around them to get a look at the ring and to offer their congratulations to the couple.

Klaus held his hand out to Elijah.

“Congratulations, brother. I hope you find nothing but happiness in this new avenue of your life.” Klaus shook Elijah's hand, moving on afterwards to hug Hayley. Hope had been picked up by Elijah and was resting on his hip.

“So, hybrid queen, how did Elijah pop the question?” Rebekah asked, peering at the ring on Hayley's hand.

“We were just walking through New Orleans and listening to the jazz music playing in the street. I turned round and there he was, down on one knee, with the ring box in his hand.”

There were 'awws' aplenty and much cooing over the romanticism of the story, before Freya and Keelin stepped forward.

“As long as we're sharing, Freya and I have an announcement as well.” Said Keelin.

The others watched as Keelin’s hands drifted downwards to cradle her tummy.

“Keelin and I are going to have a baby!” Freya screamed happily. She and Keelin were promptly buried under their family, who were also screaming in delight at the news.

“When's the baby due?!”

“How far along are you?”

“Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?”

Freya and Keelin were besieged by questions and had to quieten everyone down so they could answer.

“The baby's due in six months, Keelin’s about three months along. And we're hoping it's going to be a boy, but we don't know for sure.” Freya beamed at everyone, putting an arm around Keelin’s waist.

Congratulations were passed around, before it was decided that a banquet was in order. Klaus made call after call (compelling a few people as well), and by the evening, a grand looking feast was being served for the family.

Klaus would be lying if he said that a small part of him wasn't doing this to impress Thomas. On a whim, just to be what Rebekah would call a 'smarmy git', Klaus bought a beautiful red rose and laid it on Thomas's pillow with a note.

_'Hello Pretty Kitty. By now I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you (given my inept attempts at flirting and constant double entendres) to find out that I harbour a burgeoning attraction to you. What may surprise you, however, is that my physical desires are rapidly evolving into overpowering romantic affection. Namely, I feel very strongly when I think of you, and I wish to make known my intentions to court you. After seeing you today, completely as you are, and not pretending to be somebody else, I find myself unable to further conceal my emotions. So I leave this note and this flower (which I find almost as beautiful as you) as evidence of my affections._

_I very much hope that you will accept my offer, though I solemnly promise that I will accept your rejection if that is the answer you wish to give, and no more shall be said on the matter. If I find this flower on my bed at the end of the night, I will take your answer to be a 'no'._

_However, if you do wish to accept my offer and would like to pursue a romantic relationship with me, I would request that you meet me in the courtyard at midnight tonight with this note, whereupon I shall begin the process of courting you. With all my affection,_

_Klaus Mikaelson'_

Klaus nodded to himself, pleased with his wording, before he hurried back to the celebrations downstairs.

*****

**Thomas's POV**

The celebrations of Hayley and Elijah's engagement and Freya and Keelin's impending parenthood lasted well into the night. Indeed, it was after eleven o'clock at night by the time Thomas walked into his bedroom (Klaus had insisted that it now be his bedroom and that the Mikaelson compound be considered Thomas's residence and his home). He did a double-take when he noticed a beautiful rose lying on his pillow with a handwritten note.

He opened the note and read it. Then he read it again. Then he read it again and again and again.

He turned the note over, as though to find some sort of hidden message in the note, and picked up the rose. Obviously there was physical attraction and some palpable sexual tension between the two of them, but the thought of Klaus actually having strong romantic feelings for him left Thomas feeling as though the rug had been yanked from underneath his feet.

True, Klaus Mikaelson had a very sketchy reputation when it came to dark deeds and cruel manipulations, but surely, Thomas thought, he couldn't be this wantonly, despicably heartless and callous to be so cavalier with someone's emotions. Nothing Thomas had seen of Klaus so far suggested that he was at all evil. On the contrary, Thomas had found Klaus to be fiercely protective and loyal towards all of his family, and very affectionate towards his daughter, on whom he clearly doted.

A wistful smile made its way unwittingly onto Thomas's face, a fluttering feeling in his chest, and he knew that his mind was made up. He folded the note and put it temporarily on his bed, before he grabbed a small vase, filled it with water, and placed the rose in it (with a preservation spell on the flower).

He grabbed the note again and glanced at the time. It was two minutes to midnight. He needed to get to the courtyard NOW. He ran out of his room barefoot and sprinted down the stairs onto the first floor, down the hallway, through the dining room, onto the first floor balcony.

He could see Klaus waiting patiently in the courtyard, just as he had said he would be, but he hadn’t noticed Thomas's presence yet. Thomas started running again, and nearly fell down the stairs onto the courtyard in his haste.

“Klaus!” Thomas called to catch his attention as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Klaus turned, and a broad smile took over his face. Thomas stopped at the bottom of the stairs and held a hand up with the note.

“I got your note.” He said in a breathless voice. “Is it true?”

“Is what true, love?” Klaus smiled but remained where he was at Thomas's request.

“That you like me... romantically. That you want to court me. Because if this is some sort of twisted joke—” Thomas's breath hitched, and the emotion in his voice made his speech thick and throaty.

“Do you really think so low of me?” Klaus said lowly, looking like a kicked puppy.

“I don't want to. But I need to see you prove it; I need you to say it to my face. Look into my eyes and tell me that this isn't a cruel joke.” Thomas pleaded to Klaus, tears springing into his eyes.

Klaus loomed in front of Thomas within a second, tilting his chin up so that they were looking directly into each other's eyes. Thomas could see the danger and the passion in Klaus's eyes, but there was also an intense vulnerability there, as though he was scared to let himself care for someone.

“I am very serious. This is no joke; I could never do that to you. I, Niklaus Mikaelson, fancy the pants off you, Thomas Labonair. Will you consent to a romantic date with me?” Klaus said, gently taking Thomas’s hand in both of his.

Thomas threw his arms around Klaus's neck and stood on his tip-toes so that their lips could meet.

It was quite as magical as everyone in stereotypical romantic literature made it out to be. It was as though fireworks were exploding behind Thomas's eyelids, like he was being electrocuted with the source being Klaus's lips on his. The short stubble that Klaus had was itching slightly, but Thomas found himself craving it, craving more of the burning friction.

He felt Klaus's hands tentatively on his hips and bummed into the kiss as a sign of permission. Klaus must have understood, because he felt Klaus's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, unwilling to let go.

When the feeling of fireworks didn't cease, however, Thomas frowned in confusion and opened his eyes, pulling away from Klaus's lips slightly. It transpires that the fireworks weren't as imaginary as Thomas had first thought. With the first touch of their lips, huge purple fireworks started exploding in the sky, and Thomas knew that he must have been the cause of them.

He blushed slightly and waved his hand, vanishing the fireworks immediately and silencing the racket they had been causing.

“I guess it's true what they say about a first kiss, Klaus. Just like fireworks.” Thomas smiled up at the Original hybrid.

“THANK GOD FOR THAT! THE TENSION WAS SODDING KILLING ME!” yelled a voice from above them. Klaus and Thomas looked up at the balcony to see all of the other occupants of the mansion looking down at them, very much awake. Rebekah had clearly been the one that had yelled, and was grinning broadly at them.

“Klaus?” Hayley called down to the courtyard. “Hurt my little brother and I'll castrate you!” She shouted, ruining the intimidating effect slightly by smiling.

“Noted, Little Wolf.” Klaus called back. “Now all of you to back to minding your own business.”

With that, Klaus pressed his lips to Thomas's once more, adding fuel to the fire that was burning in his heart.


	4. Spilled Coffee and Melted Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Thomas enjoy the glow of their newly kindled romance. The vampires of New Orleans are introduced to Thomas Labonair, but will everything to smoothly? And Jesus, why does coffee have to be so hot?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, because of busy times and lots of things happening right now, I'm struggling to regularly upload chapters, but am doing my best to fit my writing into my schedule.
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter!
> 
> T xxx

**Thomas’s POV**

Thomas’s eyes snapped open as he jerked awake unpleasantly, a strangled scream leaving his lips. His face felt wet and he wiped away the mix of tears and cold sweat that was glistening there.

He took in a shaky breath and tried to forget the dream that had haunted him last night, as it did every night; his mother's body falling to the ground and her head landing with a soft thump in the quickly reddening snow a few feet away. The dream always subsequently changed scene so that instead of looking down on his mother's body, he was looking down on the body of the eight year old girl that the coven had forced him to kill, in the same position that his mother's body had been in. But instead of the snow being stained with blood, it would always be thick, dark red blood trickling over the filthy stone floor of the basement that the coven had kept him in, the blood spilling repulsively onto his feet as Thomas tried desperately to get away from the body, only to be stopped by the heavy-duty, cursed chains that they shackled his ankles and wrists with. Even now, far away in New Orleans, months after he'd escaped, he could still feel the cold chafing of the metal on his skin, his wrists and ankles permanently scarred from years of being rubbed raw and bleeding. His pitiful healing factor, which in itself was negligible, wouldn't have been able to heal scars that he'd gained _before_ his lycanthropy had been activated. No, the scars of his childhood would be with him forever, both physically and emotionally.

He felt someone sitting up next to him and pulling him into their strong, warm arms. It was Klaus.

“Sssshhhh, it's okay, love. It was just a nightmare.” Klaus whispered softly as he stroked Thomas's hair.

“It wasn't a nightmare.” Thomas muttered, sniffling wetly in spite of himself. “It was a memory.”

Klaus said nothing, not asking about the memory, but Thomas could feel his arms tightening around him, squeezing him reassuringly, reminding him that he was safe now. Thomas leaned backwards into the touch and let his head rest on Klaus's chest. Klaus was very shirtless, light brown curly hair thinly covering his muscular but still lean chest.

“I still can't believe that last night was real, that it actually happened.” Thomas smiled as he re-lived what was easily one of the happiest moments of his life (though, admittedly, almost all of those moments had happened since he'd arrived in New Orleans, which had only been two days ago or thereabouts).

After the kiss in the courtyard, Klaus and Thomas had been perfectly unwilling to part from one another, even just until morning, so Klaus had thrown Thomas, giggling, over his shoulder, and had run as fast as he could to his bedroom.

Nothing untoward had happened; Klaus had provided Thomas with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in, and they had lain down together, enjoying the intimate closeness of each other's embrace as they fell asleep.

“Are you glad that it did happen?” Klaus said quietly, trying to guard his emotions.

“Of course I am, Klaus. It's just surreal that something so amazing happened to me.”

“Get used to it.” Klaus said stoutly. “I’m an immortal hybrid, who has been steadily accumulating more and more wealth throughout the centuries. And now I have someone to spoil absolutely rotten, well... As well as Hope.”

“Please don't go spending inordinate amounts of money on me, Klaus. I have no way of reciprocating. Not at all, at least until I get a job.”

“I have a few problems with that. One, it's my money, I shall do whatever I please with it. Two, this is a relationship, not a business transaction. Just because I have the ability and the desire to treat you with lavish gifts does _not_ mean that you have to 'pay me back’ or something ridiculous like that. Three, you deserve nice things and have scarcely had anything nice for your whole life. So be prepared for me to compensate by going completely over the top, for which I will harbour no regrets or qualms. Four, you're not getting a job.”

“What? Why not?” Thomas frowned.

“My siblings and I do not have to keep ourselves employed, we have a family fortune that would make any royalty drool. You're now part of this family for the rest of your life, whether you like it or not, so you're set for life. No money troubles ever again.” Klaus said with a satisfied grin.

“Fine, I guess I can do stuff around the compound to keep me busy.” Thomas mumbled. “But I still don’t like the thought of living off of your money, not financially contributing somehow, spending it as I please, and then _you_ spending it on me as well.”

“As I said, get used to it, love.” Klaus shrugged. “I live like a king. You shall live like a queen.”

Klaus wouldn't hear any more of Thomas's objections, and proceeded to quell his retort with a kiss. Thomas pulled back, breathless, and let his eyes travel over Klaus's bare torso, with Klaus having the bedsheets pulled up barely past his hips. Klaus preened at the attention, basking in the morning sunlight that was filtering through the thin curtains.

“Are you completely naked?” Thomas asked, blushing furiously.

“Regrettably not.” Klaus said, with a fake pout. “Call me old-fashioned, but I rather thought that it would be improper to force my nudity upon you so early into the courting. I do not wish to earn myself a reputation as a hussy. I just much prefer to sleep shirtless. Does it bother you? Because I can put a t-shirt on if you wish.” Klaus made an aborted move to get out of the bed, but Thomas grabbed his arm and yanked him back down.

“NO! No, I mean, that's fine... Whatever's comfortable for you...” Thomas fumbled, his cheeks reddening.

Klaus smirked at him, but leaned in for another tender kiss.

“What would you like to do today, my Queen?” Klaus whispered against his lips.

Normally, being called a 'queen' would have annoyed Thomas, but the way Klaus said it, it had felt completely genuine, it had felt almost like Klaus revered him as much as he would the most beauteous of royal majesties.

“I do need a favour from you actually. Though I dare say you and your family will gain some entertainment from it.”

“Name it.” Klaus said earnestly, looking at Thomas with wide, doe-like eyes.

“Sometime later today, maybe early evening, I need you to gather all the vampires of the city here.”

“Very well.” Klaus nodded.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what for?” Thomas said.

“Nope.” Klaus said promptly. “I trust you. And I'm sure you do have a reason for gathering all the vampires and allowing them into our home. Plus, you said it would be entertaining for me. So I don't want the surprise to be spoiled for me.”

Thomas giggled as Klaus nosed at his neck, tickling him with his stubble. Thomas could feel Klaus grinning against his neck, and he then proceeded to nibble lightly at the juncture where his neck met his shoulder, nipping, licking, and sucking at it hard, until a vivid dark purple hickie stood out against Thomas's skin. Thomas had to bite his lip to keep from moaning in pleasure as Klaus licked the hickie and pressed feather-light kisses to the area, and he could feel his dick starting to harden slightly under the bedsheets.

“We should get up. Get showered and dressed and stuff...” Thomas said breathlessly as Klaus continued to make multiple more hickies on Thomas's neck and shoulder, gently pulling aside the neckline of the t-shirt.

“Maybe I want to keep you all to myself today.” Klaus mumbled distractedly.

“Either way, Rebekah is going to judge the shit out of us for all these damned hickies you're leaving on me.”

“Frankly, my Queen, I don't give a flying fuck.” Klaus said.

“Still... I need to have a shower. And brush my teeth. Morning breath, ugh.” Thomas said, shuffling away from Klaus to the edge of the bed. He didn't need to see Klaus to know that he was pouting. But Thomas grinned to himself.

Klaus's t-shirt was so large compared to Thomas's short frame, that it reached just past his butt. Grinning still more broadly, Thomas very deliberately slipped the shorts off from under the t-shirt as Klaus watched hungrily. Thomas turned and threw the shorts at Klaus and they hit him in his stunned face. Chuckling, Thomas sauntered into the en-suite bathroom, walking slowly, just to tease Klaus even more. He smirked in a satisfied sort of manner when he heard a predatory growl come from the bed.

*****

When Thomas sneaked back to his bedroom from Klaus's bathroom (thankfully without being seen, as he was wrapped only in a towel), he noticed two packages sitting on his bed in fancy silver wrapping paper with red ribbons tied around them in neat bows; one was flat and rectangular like a box, and the other was much bigger, huge really, and soft and squishy. There was no note with them, just a square piece of fine-looking parchment with the letter 'K' inked onto it in a curly font.

Thomas smiled to himself; Klaus certainly didn't wait long, did he? Thomas hadn't taken Klaus very seriously when Klaus had told him that he'd be showering him with gifts, and he certainly hadn't expected Klaus to start so soon; but then again, he supposed, Klaus seemed to delight in doing the extravagant and unexpected. He also seemed utterly determined to test how far he could stretch his considerable amount of money with regards to spending it on Thomas. Thomas pushed his damp hair off of his face and looked down at the two gifts, before selecting the big squishy one to unwrap first.

It was an enormous plush teddy bear, with fluffy brown fur and big eyes.

“Oh my goodness. I can't. This is so cute.” Thomas whispered to himself. Again, this perfectly described Klaus, in Thomas's opinion; what should be a ferocious and deadly animal, but in reality, just a cute cuddly thing that wanted a hug.

Thomas decided that he should get dressed before he opened the other present; that way he could go and thank Klaus in person. He chose one of the superhero t-shirts that he'd got yesterday (hey, superheroes are cool, and Spider-Man is awesome. Sue him) and put on some blue denim dungarees over the top. He looked hopelessly at his still damp hair in the mirror as a drop of water fell from one of the long and straggly pieces onto his chest. He sighed and pulled his long brown curls into a messy ponytail at the back off his head and, on a whim, using the red ribbon from the teddy bear's wrappings to tie it together. The ribbon smelled ever so slightly of Klaus's cologne. He should probably still get Rebekah to teach him how to actually do something cool with his hair; her gorgeous blonde hair was _always_ on point.

He turned back to his bed and picked up the other gift. It was fairly light, and a large flat rectangle. He carefully pulled off the ribbon and the wrapping paper to reveal a red box, the kind that jewellers put very expensive jewellery in. Thomas held his breath as he opened the hinged lid of the box, and he gasped. Inside, nestled in the black velvet cushion, was the most beautiful necklace he had ever seen in his life, with a set of matching earrings.

The necklace had a fine silver chain, and hanging from it were two small diamonds with a ruby dangling and glittering beneath them. The ruby was perfectly cut in the shape of a teardrop, like a dazzling little drop of blood.

“Wow.” Thomas breathed in complete awe. He only had to look at the necklace and earrings to know that the jewels were all genuine and of the finest quality possible. Thomas winced at the thought of how much they must have cost; leave it to Klaus to sniff out the most outlandishly expensive gift in the entirety of New Orleans just for Thomas.

Thomas's stomach fell as he looked at the earrings again. He didn't have pierced ears.

“Bex!” Thomas yelled out, knowing that Rebekah would hear him from wherever she was in the compound. As expected, he heard a rush of wind behind him, and he turned to find Rebekah Mikaelson in the doorway with her arms crossed in front of her. She smiled at him.

“You called?” She walked over and looked in the jewellery box that Thomas was holding out to show her. “Bloody hell! Those are the biggest bloody rubies I've ever seen! They've _got_ to be genuine! Was this –”

“Klaus.” Thomas confirmed, nodding. “The only problem is—”

“You don't have pierced ears.” Rebekah said seriously, peering at him. She rolled her eyes. “Typical men, honestly. They never look properly. What do you want to do? And for the love of God, are all of those hickies? It looks like your neck got into a fight with a vacuum cleaner, and the vacuum cleaner won. Jesus, Klaus is sure damn possessive, you can see that.”

“Can you pierce them or not?” Thomas said testily, looking up timidly at her. “I can heal them up straight away with a simple healing spell, so it's really just a case of stabbing a couple of small holes in my ears.”

“Come here, then.” Rebekah said with a long-suffering sigh. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of his room and up to her bedroom on the third floor, with him clutching the jewellery box in his other hand.

She sat him down on her huge bed, which was pristinely made (probably not by Rebekah, but by Marcel) and walked over to her dresser, rifling round in one of the drawers until she walked back to Thomas, a sharp long hat pin in her hand.

“Take this and I'll go get an ice cube and a piece of apple.” She said, but Thomas shook his head.

“Don’t bother. Just stab it into my ear.” Rebekah huffed in laughter but did it anyway. Quick as a flash, she had pierced a hole into each of Thomas's ear lobes, perfectly placed. She put the earrings straight in, clicking the backs into place on the studs.

After she'd moved back slightly, Thomas waved his hands over each of his ears, and little clouds obscured the sides of his head momentarily, before dissipating and leaving his ears completely healed around the earrings.

“Cheers.” Thomas nodded gratefully at Rebekah.

“No worries. You want me to put that necklace on for you as well?”

“No... Thanks.” Thomas mumbled, blushing. “I want Klaus to do it...”

Rebekah smirked at him.

“The both of you are quite frankly pathetically besotted with each other already. It's bordering on sickening, really.” She said with an air of friendly exasperation as she led the way out, Thomas darting into his bedroom to deposit the empty box back onto his bed. He now held the delicate silver chain of the necklace gingerly in his fingers.

They found most of the others milling around the courtyard, which seemed to Thomas to serve as the main hub of the compound, where all the Mikaelsons seemed to congregate, or just hang out and go about their individual business. Hayley and Elijah were being disgustingly in love in one of the armchairs as Elijah regaled Hayley with the tales of his time in France, Hayley smiling softly at him from where she was sat in his lap with her arms around him. Davina and Freya seemed to be experimenting with some interesting-looking spells as rancid-smelling puffs of differently coloured smoke emanated from the corner they were occupying. Klaus had Hope sitting on his lap, and was smiling broadly as his daughter showed him some of the artwork that she had recently been working on. It really was a very adorable sight, completely wrecking the thin veneer of brutality and indifference that Klaus tried to misdirect people with. Hope skipped over to her mother to show her drawings to her too.

Klaus looked up as Thomas and Rebekah walked down the stairs, and Thomas got the impression that Klaus was locked onto the sound of his heartbeat. Their eyes met, and Klaus's face lit up in a dazzling smile, causing Thomas's heat to flutter temporarily. Klaus smiled still more widely at this, confirming Thomas’s suspicion that Klaus he been listening to his heartbeat; he must have heard it skip a beat (ugh, how very embarrassing).

“Hello, love. Did you like the presents I left for you?” Klaus said softly, with a husky undertone to his voice that make Thomas shiver slightly, no matter how much he tried to play it cool.

“Th-they’re beautiful, Klaus. Thank you.” Thomas said, cupping Klaus's cheek as he leaned down for a small peck on the lips. “Could you help me with this?” He asked, holding up the necklace.

“Of course. Come here.” Klaus said, beckoning Thomas forward. Thomas let Klaus guide him into sitting in his lap, gently brushing aside the pony tail so that the hairs didn't get tangled. Klaus took the necklace out of Thomas's hand and fastened the silver chain around his neck, placing soft kisses there once he'd done so. Thomas hummed gently into the contact as Klaus cradled him in his lap and sat there, perfectly content to cuddle.

“They look beautiful on you.” Klaus said, nestling his head into Thomas's hair.

“They look beautiful all by themselves, Klaus.”

“Yes, but they look even better attached to something as gorgeous as you. You amplify their beauty.”

“Oh stop it, you big sappy softie. You're going to ruin your reputation with your siblings.”

“Good.” Klaus said fervently. “I don't want that reputation with my family anymore. Only with my enemies. My family has nothing to fear from me... Not anymore.”

Klaus mumbled into Thomas's hair. Thomas could see Klaus's siblings looking across at them in surprise, having heard his words thanks to vampire hearing. Evidently, they were more shocked than Thomas was to hear how much Klaus cared for them. 

“Just kiss me already, hybrid king.”

“As you wish, my queen.” Klaus grinned as he leaned in and granted Thomas's wish.

“They really are gorgeous, Klaus. Seriously, thank you. An absolutely wonderful, if slightly extravagant, gift. I don't know how I could thank you for this.”

“You have already saved my family from eternal doom for the time being. If anything, I owe _you_ tenfold. But I am glad you like them. They're Madagascan rubies; some of the finest in the world. Only the best for the best.” Klaus said proudly as he inspected the teardrop ruby on the necklace, which sat nestled low on Thomas's chest, about the same height that his nipples were underneath his clothes.

“And the diamonds?”

“From the Congo. They're the top exporter of diamonds in the world, and for good reason. The clarity in them is second-to-none, and every one of them is an entire carat in weight. Not just rounded up to one carat like they do in retail stores nowadays to make the value seem higher. No, these diamonds were obtained by yours truly in one of my sketchier business deals with an African vampire clan centuries ago. At least now they have been turned from, what was in effect, blood money to something beautiful and delicate sitting where they belong on the neck of royalty.” Klaus smiled, talking openly to Thomas about his past misdeeds.

Thomas really appreciated the openness and honesty with which Klaus talked to him about his somewhat checked past. It reassured Thomas that he had Klaus's trust, and that he, in return, could trust Klaus not to lie to him.

“Well, I'm hardly royalty, even if you treat me so.” Thomas rolled his eyes, but blushed all the same.

“You’re as good as royalty in this city now. You're with us. With me. And I'm very happy to have it so.” Klaus said earnestly. “So don't expect me to stop treating you like a queen, because that is what you're becoming to me.”

“Come here.” Thomas demanded, hugging Klaus tightly and sighing happily. Klaus, to Thomas's relief and happiness, seemed only too willing and comfortable with openly displaying his affection for Thomas. A thought occurred to Thomas, though he couldn't really say what it was that brought it to the forefront of his mind.

“What do you prefer to be called? Most people call you Klaus, but Elijah always calls you Niklaus, and Bex seems to call you Nik most of the time...” Thomas tailed off, biting his lip and deep in thought. Klaus didn't seem annoyed at all though, which had been a worry to Thomas. On the contrary, he looked simply thoughtful, and maybe slightly puzzled.

“It's true, Elijah always seems to call me by Niklaus, I guess it just feels very natural for our relationship. And Rebekah has always been more relaxed with formalities and so on, so she favours the more informal abbreviation of Nik. Same with Kol.”

“So what should I call you?”

“Well, I shan't lie, I do like it when you call me your hybrid king, it's a constant stroking of my ego which I rather enjoy.” Klaus grinned.

“Hardy-har, cuddlepup. Now come on, be serious.” Thomas stuck his tongue out at Klaus who retaliated just as childishly by lightly pinching Thomas's side, making him jump reflexively.

“Cuddlepup, my arse. I will have you know that I am a fearsome tyrant known for my ruthlessness across the globe.”

“Oh really? Because I have an enormous teddy bear upstairs that says otherwise.”

“That teddy bear is a lying liar who lies.”

“Yeah, right. So come on then.”

“Very well.” Klaus sniffed and acted indifferent, though it didn't fool Thomas for even half a second. “If you must know, I always wanted someone to call me Nikky, as a friendly and endearing nick-name, pardon the pun. But it never caught on with any of my siblings, and I've had very few friends over the centuries, even fewer that I've liked enough to want them to call me by that name, and basically none that I haven't tried to kill at least once. So eventually I just forgot about it.”

Klaus sounded disappointed and, truth be told, very pouty.

“Well I like it.” Thomas said decisively. “Now I want my amazing, impressive, hybrid king of a boyfriend, _Nikky_ , to get over here and give me a damn good kiss.”

Thomas didn't know whether or not Klaus was trying to, but he was doing a piss-poor job of hiding how pleased he was. He gave Thomas a toothy grin which, to Thomas, looked ecstatic, awkward, rugged, vulnerable, mischievous, adorable, and very very sexy all at the same time; quite an impressive feat, all in all.

“A-and you?” Klaus smiled. “What would you like to b—”

“Call me Tommy.” Thomas interrupted, smiling down at Klaus and feeling as though Klaus was the most precious and adorable thing on the planet, narrowly beating out a basket of puppies.

“Okay.” Klaus said, nodding.

They watched everyone else going about their business for a while, just enjoying being in each other's company, before Klaus insisted that he should take his boyfriend out for the best brunch served in all of New Orleans, and indeed, the entire state of Louisiana.

*****

**Klaus's POV**

“I didn't even know that one person could be physically capable of consuming so many beignets.” Klaus shook his head in amazement as they exited the street market, both he and Tommy holding a cup of steaming hot coffee. Klaus liked his coffee plain; black, no sugar, no nonsense. Thomas had, on the other hand, selected a beverage so disgustingly sweet and convolutedly constructed, that Klaus was very surprised that his boyfriend's teeth weren't rotting away as Klaus watched; Thomas had called it a caramel mocha latte, and had then proceeded to add not just one, but _three_ sachets of sugar to the vile concoction! But Tommy seemed to be enjoying it, so Klaus just smiled quietly to himself and marvelled at Tommy’s eccentricities, another one of which was apparently being able to eat four servings of beignets covered in syrup and icing sugar.

Quite apart from it being a preposterous amount of food in its own right, Klaus had been utterly flabbergasted to be witness to his boyfriend consuming every bite of it with no difficulty at all, even going so far as to slap Klaus's hand away when he tried to sneak a bite for himself.

“What?” Thomas pouted indignantly. “I’ve never had one before! They're bloody incredible.”

“Oh, I'm not annoyed, my love. On the contrary, I was mightily impressed with your ability to eat what must have been your own weight in doughnuts.” Klaus smirked and nudged his boyfriend with his shoulder.

Without warning, a vampire came racing around the corner, apparently not having seen them, and knocked into Tommy, sending him tumbling to the floor, scalding hot coffee spilling all over him.

“Oi! You wanna watch where you're going, idiot?” The vampires snarled at Thomas, who was sitting on the floor with a dazed expression on his face, trying to soothe his scraped hands. His face was splotchy and red from where the boiling hot coffee had splashed him.

Klaus grabbed the vampire by the throat and threw him against the nearest wall, picking him up and pinning him to the wall.

“Apologise!” Klaus growled dangerously. “Apologise to him! NOW!!”

“Mr Mikaelson!” The vampire squealed in a wheezing voice. “I didn't see you there!”

“That’s because you were rocketing around like an imbecile and knocked right into my companion, here. Very stupid of you, really.” Klaus said, squeezing his hand even tighter around the vampire’s throat.

“Nikky! Stop it! Please!” Klaus felt a tugging on his arm and looked round to see Tommy frantically trying to wrench his arm away.

“He hurt you. He knocked you down and made the coffee burn you.”

“Klaus, it's okay! It was an accident. Please, leave him. Look, I'm fine, see?”

His statement was rendered somewhat fallacious by the fact the he winced when he held up his hands, showing Klaus his grazed palms, tiny bits of gravel in them. Klaus raised an eyebrow at him disbelievingly.

“Who the hell are you?” The vampire turned his nose up at Thomas.

“You’re not helping my case here, asshole! I'm trying to get him to not kill you.” Thomas snapped at him.

“This gentleman is the reason that my family and I were reunited, alive and well, so you would do well to give him due respect and reverence.” Klaus warned sternly, wanting nothing more than to rip the impudent bastard's heart out and shove it so far up his ingrate arse that he spat it out onto the floor.

But alas, Klaus knew that the battle was lost as soon as his Tommy had asked him to spare the impudent fool; Klaus didn't think, even this early in the game, that he'd be able to deny Thomas Labonair any single thing he wished for. A thought flashed briefly through his mind of how dangerous it could be that someone he'd known for such a comparably brief amount of time could already have such a sway over his actions; the old him would certainly not have tolerated being so vulnerable at the hands of another person. He probably would have killed Tommy in blind rage and paranoia. He shuddered at the thought; he couldn't imagine hurting a hair on Tommy’s head, the mere notion was completely inconceivable!

“Very well, love. I'll spare this cockroach. But only because it's you.”

“Thank you.” Tommy breathed deeply in relief, leaning his forehead against the back of Klaus's shoulder, Klaus could feel the heat of his body through his jacket. “Now, you,” Tommy continued, jabbing his finger hard into the vampire's chest, “Kindly fuck off before either of us changes our minds.”

The vampire spat on the floor at Thomas's feet and sped off before Klaus could wring his filthy neck for such a blatant show of disrespect.

“Ugh, leave it, Klaus.” Thomas placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently, as though to comfort him.

“You've got coffee all over you.” Klaus pointed out sadly, his eyes scanning over the stained garments.

“Watch this.” Thomas waved a hand slowly over himself and the coffee was drawn out of his clothes, forming a small ball of brown coffee in mid-air. Tommy flicked his finger upwards and the ball of coffee flew up in to the air and disappeared. Tommy's clothes were perfectly clean once more, and he looked for all intents and purposes just as beautiful and elegant as he would have done before he had been knocked down and covered with his latte.

“Where did the coffee go?” Klaus said stupidly. Thomas linked his arm with Klaus and smirked as he steered them around to walk back to the compound.

“Let’s just say that that ass-hat just accidentally ordered a latte to the head.”

*****

“They’re here.” Klaus said, strutting into the library later that afternoon, picking Tommy up unceremoniously from the chair he was sitting in and switching them round, so he was sitting on the chair with his Tommy in his lap. Thomas squawked and flailed at the abrupt change in positions, but promptly settled back and curled up in Klaus's lap, reading his mother's grimoire as Klaus stroked his finger through his beautifully soft curls, breathing in the scent of fresh green apples. Klaus sighed peacefully.

“Who’s here, Nik?” Rebekah looked up from her book; Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

“Every vampire in New Orleans, dear sister.” Klaus said distractedly, still deeply inhaling Tommy's sweet scent.

“Excellent.” Tommy said, closing the grimoire and setting it down on the coffee table.

“Whatever for?” Rebekah said, bewildered.

“For your evening entertainment. I'd round the rest of the family up if I were you, except maybe Hope. They won't want to miss this.”  
Hope had already gone to bed, so Klaus rounded up the others and told them to get to the balcony that looked over the courtyard. The courtyard itself was packed with vampires from all over New Orleans, all stirring and grumbling to themselves. Not one of them had been told why they had come here (of course, nobody exactly knew except Thomas himself).

Thomas walked past all the Mikaelsons, giving Klaus a quick kiss on his way past as he made his way to the stairs.

“Vampires of New Orleans! Thank you all for coming here this evening. I'm sure that you're all wondering why I asked you to come here tonig—”

“Wait, _you're_ the one who wanted us to come here?” A vampire called up the stairs to him.

“Indeed.”

“And who _are_ you, exactly?” Another spoke up.

“My name is Thomas Labonair.”

“Labonair? Like, from the Crescent Wolf pack? I thought all the Labonair family were dead.”

“Only my sister Hayley and I remain on this Earth.” Thomas explained patiently.

“And who are you to order us about? You have no authority over us, to summon us here like trained rats!” The vampire shouted, and Klaus realised with a bristling irritation that it was the same vampire that had knocked into Thomas earlier. Evidently, Thomas recognised him too.

“Well, I know _you_ know who I am as you sent me flying earlier. How was that latte by the way?” The vampire flushed and grumbled something but settled back in line. Thomas smirked knowingly. “As I was saying, I am Thomas Labonair. I have come from Canada, where I was held captive for six years by my coven. My mother was a sorceress, my father was a werewolf.”

“So what are _you_?”

“A witch-werewolf hybrid. Well... were-puma, if you want to be specific.”

“And why did you call us here?” One of the vampires, Joshua Rosza, stepped forward, acting as a spokesperson.

“I came here a few days ago, and with the use of strong magic, I helped save the Mikaelson family from the malevolent presence of The Hollow.”

“You did more than simply help, the way I heard it. Apparently, you saved them practically single-handedly.” Josh called up the stairs to him.

“My magic is fairly powerful, it is true.” Thomas conceded modestly, starting to make his way slowly down the stairs. “My magic is strong in itself, but I am further aided by the combined magic of my coven, which I stole with the aid of my parents, and I am now the sole being able to wield that magic. My coven is near enough powerless. It is contained within this ring.” He held his hand up to the surrounding vampires, showing them the ring that glinted on his finger.

“That much power... How hasn't it destroyed you? When Davina was a harvest girl, she nearly destroyed herself and the whole city along with her because the power was too great.” Josh said, nodding at Davina on the balcony.

“An excellent question, I grant you – uh, your name?”

“Joshua Rosza. I'm a friend of Davina's.” Josh called.

“Well, Joshua. A very smart question. The reason that all this magic hasn't killed me is that the power is in the actual ring. All that power is stored safely in the ring for me to tap into as and when I need to.”

“Cool.” Josh said, nodding.

“The reason that I asked you well to come here is, even though my coven has no magic of their own now, they have a great many allies, and will more than likely be looking for me. My coven are followers of The Hollow's dark magic. They will try to find me, and when they do, they will kill me. I will not be allowed to survive.” Thomas said, glancing briefly up the stairs and momentarily catching Klaus's eye.

“They will also attempt to kill all of the Mikaelsons, including Hope, my niece. I have asked you all to come here for three reasons. Reason one is so that I may gauge your collective ability and make sure that you are adequately prepared and willing to protect my niece and her family. The second is to train myself against multiple assailants. The third is... well, I'm new here, and a certain event that took place earlier today made me realise that I have not yet earned the loyalty or respect from the supernatural populists of this city. So I want to earn some of my own street cred as well.”

“What are you saying?”

“I want you all to try and attack me.” Thomas said simply.

“It won't be a fair fight with that ring of power you got there.” Josh said, pointing at the ring.

“Fair enough.” Thomas said. He twisted the ring off his finger. “Nikky?” He called up to him without looking.

“Yes, love?”

“Hold out your hand, please.” Thomas said. Klaus did as he was bidden. Thomas, down in the courtyard, placed the ring in his open palm, and clapped the other hand on top. Klaus felt the ring drop in to his outstretched hand. He blinked, surprised, but held it up in his hand so the vampires down below could see.

“Good. Look after that for me, would you, baby?” Tommy called to Klaus loudly.

“As you wish, beautiful.” Klaus called back down to him. Klaus could hear muttering from the vampires in the courtyard. Thomas grinned up at him and blew him a kiss.

“Right. Back to business. I want you all to attack me. You are to fight without mercy, as you would in a life or death situation. Obviously I'd rather you don't kill me, and rest assured that I will not kill any of you. Grievous bodily harm, however, is perfectly fair. Fight as if your lives depend on it.”

“And what's in it for us?” One of the other vampires shouted.

“Honour, pride, the knowledge that you're helping save the family that sired you all. Take your pick. And daylight rings to all nightwalkers who do fight me.”

There was shocked mutterings and cries of surprise at these last words, from the vampires in the courtyard and also from the Mikaelson family on the balcony above. 

“You’re serious?!”

“Very.” Thomas said gravely. “And for those of you that really do not wish to stay and fight, there will be transportation out of New Orleans to anywhere you wish to go. The only one exempt is you, Joshua Rosza. I hear from Davina and Marcel that you have already proved your loyalty. You may go freely back home or join the others to search if you wish.”

“So it's either fight, or you're kicking us out of New Orleans?” One of the vampires shouted in indignation.

“Yes.” Thomas said simply. “This family needs loyal vampires who will help to protect them if it proves necessary, which may not even happen, if we're extremely lucky. The only reason that you guys are still walking around in the first place is because of that family up there; otherwise you'd all be dead corpses rotting away somewhere. So if you are not prepared to stand up and help, get the fuck out of my sight.” Tommy finished in a savage yell, throwing a disgusted look.

“And why should we listen to anything that you have to say?” Another vampire interrupted insolently. Klaus snapped.

“You will all listen to anything that Thomas Labonair has to say, and any insubordinates shall pay the price. He has earned the utmost respect and gratitude from myself and the rest of my family, and you all shall follow suit.”

“Thank you, Nikky, but I'm hoping that this exercise will earn these people's respect on my own. In that vain, I would like to move things along, if that would be alright with everyone.” Thomas clapped his hands together. “So... Anyone who does wish to leave, and by that I mean leave New Orleans, if you would kindly step forward. Step through this portal one by one and it will take you anywhere you wish to go outside of the city.”

In the end, only about twenty of the assembled vampires chose exile as the favourable option. A couple of minutes later, and the rest of the vampires had once again settled down, though quite a few of them were sending dirty and disgruntled glances at Tommy, though Klaus noticed with a rush of pride that he seemed stood and unmoved by the dissent.

“Right. Now that that's sorted, we can begin. I assure you all that you will not be injured beyond what your healing abilities will be able to take care of by the time you step out of the compound.”

“This is a crap idea.” A hulking muscle mass of a Latino vampire stepped forward from the crowd, towards Tommy. “Look at the size of you! You're so weak and pathetic. It's hardly going to be a fair fight, is it now?” The vampire, who towered intimidatingly over Tommy, talked down to him in such a condescending manner, like Thomas was nothing more than a stupid child, and Klaus was prepared to wring the great brute's neck, but a staying hand from Hayley stopped him.

“Leave it.” Hayley whispered. “I’m as angry as you are, that's my little brother after all, but he wants to earn their respect himself. He won't appreciate us storming in there with guns blazing, like he can't take care of himself. We need to hang back this time and let him prove his worth to the vampires, or they'll always look down on him.”

Klaus's shoulders slumped in defeat and he sighed heavily.

“You’re right. Of course you're right. It just angers me... I – I care about him a great deal, already.”

“Believe me when I say that we can all see that, brother dearest. Truly, this is just how you were with Camille O'Connell.” Rebekah added, sending Klaus a wary glance. “Without the intention of opening old wounds, Nik, I've not seen you care for anyone as much as you cared for Camille. You loved her. That is, until this boy has come along.”

“What's your point, Rebekah?” Klaus said stiffly. While he had long stopped grieving for Cami, it still wasn’t a topic that he greatly enjoyed discussing, especially when he had just formed his first romantic attachment since she had died.

“My point is, Nik,” Rebekah sighed wearily, “It broke you inside when she died, and it hurt us all to see you so heartbroken. I'm just saying... Be careful...” Rebekah tailed off awkwardly. Klaus pulled her into a one-armed hug.

“Thanks, Rebekah.”

Their attention was drawn back to the courtyard. Thomas had squared up to the monstrosity of a vampire, defiant fire in his eyes.

“If it'll be an easy win for you, you shouldn't mind demonstrating your superiority to everyone here. On your own. Against me. What do you say, big boy?” Thomas smirked derisively.

“Me against one lousy witch that doesn't have their magical safety net ring to back them up? Why not?” The vampire said cockily.

“Excellent. Everybody back up and give us some room.”

The vampires shuffled nervously and arranged themselves around the edges of the courtyard, sticking close to the walls.

“What's your name, gigantor?” Thomas started circling round the open space, pausing to tie his hair back up in the ribbon he'd been using earlier. Klaus smiled to himself when he realised that it was one of the ribbons that he'd used to wrap up the gifts that he'd given Tommy.

“You puny faggot freak! I am centuries older than you. My name is Rodrigo Guillermo del Fierro. I have defeated thousands of opponents much mightier than you, and I will take great pleasure in ripping you apart.”

“Rodrigo, that's enough. We talked about the discriminatory language you use. It is not acceptable. Nobody is getting killed tonight.” Joshua warned sternly, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

“No that's okay, Josh. If Mr del Fierro insists on gambling with his life, then we should allow him to do so.” He turned to Rodrigo. “Very well. If you wish to fight to the death, so be it.”

“NO!” Klaus yelled, rushing towards the stairs. He tried to run down the stairs, but found an invisible barrier blocking his path.

“I'm sorry, Nikky. But I want to deal with this one myself.” Tommy hissed at Rodrigo, and Klaus was shocked at the level of venom he could hear in his voice.

“Tommy, I'm begging you. Don't do this. This Neanderthal is not worth it.” Klaus pleaded desperately, pounding his fist on the invisible barrier.

“No.” Tommy said defiantly, stubbornly staring Rodrigo down. “If this is what it takes for the vampires of this city to take me seriously, then I have no problems with killing this man.”

“You operate under the assumption that you will win, you pitiful _cucaracha_.” Rodrigo spat on the floor. Thomas ignored his blatant rudeness.

“I believe that it is courtesy to allow the challenger, that would be you, to make the first move. So... Whenever you're ready.”

Thomas was barely able to finish his sentence before Rodrigo rushed at him and grabbed hold of his neck. He threw Thomas towards a pillar, but he disappeared before he hit it and reappeared behind Rodrigo.

Thomas made a swiping movement, and Rodrigo was flung into the nearest pillar as if he weighed nothing, crashing to the floor with a cry of pain. When he stood back up, there was a trickle of blood dripping from his close-cropped hairline, though it healed quickly.  
Rodrigo let out a roar of outrage and rushed at Thomas, but Thomas calmly raised his hand in front of him, and Rodrigo was stopped in his tracks and lifted off his feet to hover frozen, just a few inches off the ground. He struggled, but in vain. He was completely unable to move.

“Let’s see how weak and pathetic you think I am _now_ , vampire.”

“Wh-what are you doing t-to me?” The vampire croaked out.

“You were quite right, you know, Mr del Fierro. This was hardly a fair fight at all. You were never going to survive this. But I want you to know, and I take no pleasure in proving this to you, that I am capable of and am willing to kill when I need to. So I hope that your sacrifice will not be in vain. You will be remembered as the poor bastard who pissed me off.”

Thomas reached forward with his other hand and made a crushing motion (Klaus could hear the sounds of bones cracking and splintering), drawing his hand back towards him.

A blood-curdling scream was all that could be heard as Rodrigo Guillermo del Fierro's heart was ripped out of his chest, flying into Thomas’s outstretched hand with a sickening squelch. Klaus watched in morbid fascination as Thomas approached Rodrigo's desiccated body (which was still hanging in the air like a disturbing Halloween decoration). He swiped a hand through the air as though to brush Rodrigo aside, and the body disintegrated into dust. The ‘dead vampire dust’ caught a sudden gust of wind and drifted out of the courtyard, dispersing into the New Orleans evening air.

All eyes settled back onto Thomas, who was still holding Rodrigo's heart. He made as though to tip the heart out of his hand... and it melted. Like candle wax. The liquidated heart poured out of his cupped palm and splashed onto the floor.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how disrespect and disobedience will be treated. I assure you all that I took no pleasure at all in... disposing of Mr del Fierro, I do not enjoy killing. But; I _will_ do so if I have to, and I will do so without hesitation or mercy. So, please... don't give me a reason to kill, because I really don't want to.”

“So... What now? You want us to just run at you and start attacking?” One of the vampires spluttered from her place against the wall, looking as though she were about to vomit at the sight of the liquidated heart still dripping slowly from Thomas’s fingers.

“Yes.” Thomas said simply. “Who’s first?”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you spot any spelling mistakes, and let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


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